


Healing.

by otrdiena



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, marriage law
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-21
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-12-05 05:40:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 28,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11571501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/otrdiena/pseuds/otrdiena
Summary: Hermione returns from her world travels to find out that she missed a very important law being made.





	1. The one where Hermione comes home.

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Harry Potter.

**Hermione I**

After the war, she left England to travel the world. It might’ve been the best decision she had made, because this year she had felt free, young and innocent again. However, she did regret something – she cut off all contact with everyone, afraid that even the smallest owl from Harry or Ron would send her back to the depressed state she was in before she left.

Hermione felt incredibly guilty for that. Harry and Ron had been supportive, but what if something serious had happened while she was away? For all she knew, Harry could have died in a freak quidditch accident. She always shuddered when thoughts like these entered her mind.

They were fine. She was sure of it. Hell, when she was in New York, wizards had recognized her. If the boy-who-lived-twice was to be dead, she’d hear it no matter where she was at the time. It was shocking just how famous her best friend was, she hadn’t quite realized it before now.

Her travels had been wonderful. First she had traveled all across Europe, seeing the mountains in Scandinavia, the magical forests in Germany and revisited France for she had fallen in love with the country ever since she went on holiday there with her parents.

Then she was brought to Africa, she’d spent most of her time in Uagadou, a wizarding school in Uganda. She was mesmerized by how beautiful the castle carved into the mountains was. It seemed as though it was levitating in the air, because mist surrounded it during the whole of her visit.

Asia was next and she made sure to go to Japan, to Mahoutokoro to be more specific. She couldn’t help, but also explore muggle Japan, which was incredibly interesting and beautiful to see.

Then she visited Australia, just for a brief couple of days. Her parents were still there and she wanted to sneak a glance of them. Part of her wanted to see that they were miserable, miserable because they knew something was missing from their lives. But that was not the case, it seemed, because the few times she managed to see them they were as happy as always. It broke her heart, being so close to them and not being able to talk to them, to hug them and to tell them how much she loved them. She got out of Australia as soon as she could.

Hermione briefly visited Brazil to see Castelobruxo. It proved to be a wonderful choice, because she met with a Hogwarts exchange student there. It was a lovely surprise and she had a nice chat with the girl about her love to Herbology and the Flora and fauna of South America. She briefly remember one of the Weasleys mentioning an exchange trip to Castelobruxo. It must’ve been Bill. She couldn’t help but smile, knowing that Bill would’ve loved it there.

Most of her year, however, had been spent in the United States and Canada. It had less to do with magic and more to do with museums and national parks, but she’d deny that if anyone would ask and proudly claim that she only wished to see the more advanced healing that was present in North America. She’d spent several days walking through museums and many nights in tents, staring up at the night sky.

The other parts of the trip were wonderful of course, but this made her relax the most. Building a tent and making a fire on her own, without magic made her feel alive again. There was something about being one with nature that cleared her thoughts and eased her nightmares, if only for a little while.

Hermione almost felt sad when she finally decided enough was enough. Which made her feel angry at herself for not wanting to see her friends and deal with her issues like an adult ought to, not just run away from them. Maybe they had needed her, but she chose to neglect them and be selfish. God, would they even take her back once she’d return?

If she’d never return, she wouldn’t know the answer to that question.

So when August came, Hermione travelled back to her home. Back to England, back to Harry and Ron. Hell, even if they wouldn’t want her back, which was perfectly reasonable, she still couldn’t wait to see them. Plus, if they would be forgiving , then she’d have hundreds of stories to tell and pictures to show. She was quite eager to show Ron a picture of a spider the size of a basketball that she took in Australia. For educational purposes, of course.

When she apparated to the Burrow, she immediately felt as though something was off. With a knock on the door, she chewed her lip and hoped for the best.

Molly Weasley nearly ripped the door off of its hinges when she knocked, “we’ll tell you when she’s –“ but the Stern look on her face softened when she saw Hermione. Not only that, but was that pity ? Oh god. What had happened.

“Hermione!” she smiled and hugged her tightly before pulling her into the house, helping her get rid of her jacket and bag before moving to the kitchen, “can I offer you something to eat ? I’ve just made some breakfast, the boys and Ginny are playing Quidditch, they ought to be back soon.”

“Oh that’d be lovely, but… Miss Weasley,” Hermione considered her words as her eyes glanced at her watch, “its only 8am… I love your son, but Ron could never wake up so early during summer, even if it was for quidditch.”

Molly Weasley looked at her hands before smiling even wider than before, “breakfast, dear !”

Immediately a plate of eggs and bacon travelled to her from the oven and, although Hermione grew more suspicious by the second, the lovely aroma of the food made her stomach the boss of her. She ate in silence, everyone in a while glancing at Molly Weasley, who was eyeing her with a strange glint in her eyes, but immediately turned away when she noticed that Hermione had caught her staring.

Finally, she finished her plate and crossed her arms, “miss Weasley, if there’s something you want to tell me then –”

“Hermione!” a shout from the hallway interrupted her and she immediately forgot all about that strange look in Molly’s eyes.

“Harry!” she cried and jumped up from her seat and ran to the boy, hugging him tightly.

Immediately more people joined the hug and she pulled away to see Ron, Ginny and George all around her. She smiled and hugged each of them, before noticing Mr. Weasley in the hallway, watching her with the same look Molly had given her.

With a frown, she looked all of them over. None of them were out of breath, nor were they dressed for Quidditch and their brooms were nowhere in sight. She had expected that. Her breath quickened and she stepped back towards the wall. Something was off. Everyone in the house was just… off.

“What is going on… what’s happened?” Hermione slowly asked.

The air was tense and she saw the hidden looks they gave each other. They must’ve been deciding who should break the news for her. “I know I’ve been gone for a year, but.. I mean.. the Death Eaters aren’t back right..?”

“Oh heavens no,” Molly said, grasping her chest, “sweetheart, it’s not that…”

“Then would someone please tell me what’s going on? You’re all acting too strange, something’s seriously wrong, I know it,” Hermione said and hugged herself, already fearing what she’d soon hear.

“Hermione, sit down,” Harry said and gently took her by the elbow and lead her back to sit at the table, “you’re right, something has happened.”

“Good or bad?” Hermione asked, staring into those green eyes of Harry’s.

With a uncomfortable chuckle, Harry shrugged, “well… both, I guess.”

Hermione’s eyes flicked to Ron’s, then Ginny’s, then to everyone else as all of them slowly took their seats at the table.

“Hermione you were gone for a while..” Ginny started.

Hermione nodded and watched as Harry flicked his wand and mumbled something under his breath. She heard something from upstairs and then saw a ripped out newspaper page flying through to the kitchen. That couldn’t have been good.

“The war had too many casualties and left many wizards and witches dead, imprisoned or infertile,” Ron continued, an obvious disgust in his voice, “the fucking Ministry –”

“Ron!”

“Sorry, mum… I meant, the Ministry decided to be a real pain in the arse for everyone and –”

“Thank you, Ron,” Mr. Weasley said, looking at his youngest son before turning to Hermione, “after the war, too many of us left the country, were dead, imprisoned or infertile. The ministry calculated that the magical population of the United Kingdom would go down by 40% after the war, which, as you can guess, is a rather worrisome number.”

Hermione nodded and Arthur Weasley continued after a short pause, “the ministry decided to intervene in the private lives of witches and wizards, which is obviously a horrid thing to do and everyone was rightfully mad at their decision.”

“What decision?” Hermione frowned.

“A marriage law was passed,” Mr. Weasley sighed and shook his head, “anyone under the age of 50 was to be married, whether they like it or not. They wouldn’t have to start a family straight away, but the Ministry offered a nice chunk of Galleons for those that.. ahem.. would.”

“You’re saying… You’re saying we have to marry?” Hermione watched them all, her mouth agape.

Harry and Ginny were a must. She’d heard rumors about George and Angelina. Percy was most likely with Penelope Clearwater. Naturally, if she’d have to marry someone, she’d go with Ron. They hadn’t gotten together after the war, because they knew that they weren’t actually in love. They loved each other a lot, but it had been a different kind of love. But even so, she’d rather marry Ron than some pureblood maniac who’d hate her guts.

Harry saw her eyes drifting from everyone and coughed when they stopped at Ron, “Hermione… I don’t know how to tell you this… just… just look , alright ?”

He pushed the newspaper page towards Hermione and her shaking hands picked the pages up, straightening them out before letting her eyes look through the words, hardly registering what she was reading.

_“ **The marriage law has passed.**_

_On September 5, 1998, the Ministry passed the law commonly known as the Marriage Law. A representative admitted that they thought it was cruel to force marriage upon the wizarding community, but said that, sadly, they did not have a choice._

_The once booming population of wizards and witches in the United Kingdom is now only a mere shadow of itself. To raise the population again, the ministry was forced to pass the law that would encourage a witch and a wizard to marry and have two children, giving them 15 years of marriage to produce offspring._

_Wizards and witches under the age of 30 are asked to pick their husbands or wives and inform the ministry of their marriage. They have until September 30, 1998. Failure to do so will lead to imprisonment for betrayal of the wizarding community._

_Wizards and witches over the age of 30 are asked to pick their husbands or wives and inform the ministry of their marriage. They have until September 5, 1999. Failure to do so will lead to imprisonment for betrayal of the wizarding community._

_If one is unable to find a suitable spouse, they may send in their application to the Ministry, specifically addressed to Maffalda Fellows, who is in charge of making sure that everyone in the wizarding community has a mate._

_The deadlines do not apply to wizards and witches currently deathly ill, imprisoned, traveling, etc. They will choose their spouse when they are able to do so._

_The ministry predicts a population boost in the next 15 years and we, readers, hope they are right by making this bold choice.”_

“By September 30th? Last year ? But that means…” Hermione whispered when she finished reading the article and looked at everyone present, “you’re all.. but then..”

“What about you?” Harry asked and Hermione nodded, “well… how about I tell you about the good news first?"


	2. The one where Hermione finds out

“Sirius is alive !?” Hermione yelled and jumped up from her seat, “how? What? Where is he?”

With a small shrug, “well.. we don’t really know how exactly he’s back after falling through the veil. Says he doesn’t remember anything. Yes, yes Hermione, we’re sure that it’s actually him” Harry immediately said when Hermione opened her mouth to voice her concern.

“The Unspeakables found Sirius laying by the Veil in July. He was unconscious and couldn’t speak or really be… well.. Sirius until they brought him to St. Mungo’s. He’s been there since July now. He’s doing fine, so he says, but we wanted to make sure that he really was fine – and really was Sirius – so I insisted that he’d stay there until the mediwizards have done all their tests. We were actually planning on taking him home today.”

Hermione watched him with her mouth open, just like when Mr. Weasley told her about the marriage law. Sirius, alive ? The same Sirius Black that fell through the Veil from which nobody had returned from ? Hermione bit her lip. She didn’t want to overthink it.

If Sirius was back and they all said he was fine, she didn’t want to worry about the specifics. This was a miracle if anything.

“Don’t get me wrong, Harry, I’m incredibly happy about Sirius being back, but… I still have to marry someone so I don’t get thrown into Azkaban,” Hermione finally said.

“Yeah… that’s where the bad news come in,” Harry mumbled and looked down.

“Well, not too bad,” Ginny mumbled and earned scolding looks from her parents, “I’m just saying.. it could’ve been worse. Could’ve been Ron.”

“Hey,” Ron frowned, his ears turning into that pink color that matched horribly with his red hair.

“What?” Hermione looked at them confused.

“Hermione, dear, I was against it.”

“Yes, mum, we all know about your plan of nearly killing Ron so he wouldn’t have to marry until Hermione got back,” George rolled his eyes.

“Against what!?” Hermione frowned and pressed her hands down on the table in front of her.

“Sit down, Hermione,” George chuckled, “we don’t want to hand you over to him broken.”

“Bloody hell, if you could just tell me what the hell you’re all talking about, that’d be wonderful,” Hermione frowned and stared at them.

“Hermione –” Harry started.

Before Ginny interrupted, “ you’re going to marry Sirius !"

* * *

When she awoke, a cold cloth was being pressed against her face and the back of her head was throbbing.

“GINEVRA! I TOLD YOU IT’S SENSITIVE NEWS, YOU CAN’T JUST EXPECT HER TO NOT –"

“Mum, I don’t think any of us expected her to faint…”

“I don’t think Ginny understands that not everyone harbors the same crushes as she does. Thank Merlin, Harry wouldn’t have chosen her if we all were fighting for is lovely hand. Sorry, sis, but I’m really the prettiest sibling.”

“ GEORGE!”

“Hermione!” Harry finally noticed that she was stirring and removed the cloth from her face, “she’s awake!”

“Could everyone stop yelling,” Hermione mumbled and sat up, rubbing her temples. Looking around she saw that she was in the Weasleys living room, laying on their couch.

Why did she faint again? Something about Sirius… Sirius !

“Oh my god, I’ll have to marry Sirius,” she whispered and covered her mouth, afraid she’d scream if she wouldn’t do so.

“Wait… wait… does anyone else hear that? I think – yes, I think that’s the sound of Black’s ego breaking back in St. Mungo’s.”

“George!”

“Look, Hermione, none of us wanted you and Sirius to marry. It was never in our plans, we thought you’d come back and have to sign up for some Ministry witch to find you a husband. We were worried sick. Do you know how many Death Eaters are still here ? We didn’t want to risk marrying you off to some blood purist,” Mr. Weasley said, Hermione could hear a slight tremor in his voice, “please, understand. When Sirius came back, we didn’t even consider it an option until he started asking about the law.”

“If it helps, Sirius wasn’t exactly jumping from joy when we told him our idea,” Ron said.

It did not help.

“Sirius only agreed once he realized how potentially dangerous the situation could be for you,” Harry said, touching Hermione’s hand gently, “ I’m sorry, Hermione. I know we shouldn’t have made a decision like that for you, but… I hope you understand.”

She did understand. Now that she wasn’t under the initial shock, the logic behind the agreement made perfect sense to her.

“When are we to marry then?” Hermione carefully asked.

“The ministry gave each couple a maximum of one month to marry,” Ron said, “bloody hell, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to stomach another wedding…”

“Ron… who did you—”

“We’ll give you some privacy,” Harry said and ushered everyone out of the living room and into the kitchen.

“Look, Hermione. We tried to contact you, but you cast that privacy charm,” Ron said and sat down on the couch with her, “I wanted you, I really did. You were the first person I thought of when I read the bloody law.”

That was almost sweet. It would’ve been sweeter if he wanted to marry her without the ministry threatening imprisonment.

“I’m sorry, Ron.. you know I needed to be alone for a while… I just.. I couldn’t –”

Ron cut her off and pulled her against his side with his arm around her shoulders. He pressed a kid against the top of her head and sighed, “I get it. We knew you needed to be alone and deal with everything your way.”

“Is.. is she nice?”

Ron understood who 'she' was, “yeah, she’s lovely. I… I actually signed up to get a spouse from the Ministry, “ his ears went pink again.

“I thought you might go for Lavender or… or Padma, or someone you know,” Hermione said, honestly shocked that Ron was allowed to enter the selection, but she was not. Maybe the chance of a female who hated blood traitors was slightly lower.

“Oh, no, no, no, nobody I know,” Ron chuckled and shook his head, “I compared them all to you, Hermione, and none of them even came close. So I decided to take my luck and get a random witch assigned to me. I guess I was lucky, you’ll like her.”

Something hurt in her chest, just slightly and she frowned at the feeling. She had felt the same when she saw Lavender and Ron kissing. Hermione scolded herself for feeling jealous again. She wasn’t together with Ron. She never was. She had no right to be jealous of the witch he had married.

“Her names Lucy,” Ron smiled and rubbed the back of her neck, “she’s not as smart as you, but she plays quidditch and she’s gorgeous.”

And suddenly that pain in her chest was gone again. She smiled at Ron and hugged her best friend tightly, “I’m happy for you.”

Once she saw the twinkle in Ron’s eye when he spoke about Lucy, she couldn’t be mad. They were friends, not lovers. She was happy, proud of her friend and eager to meet his new wife. If she ever had a chance with Ron, it was long gone and there wasn’t any point in pretending that the feelings from their Hogwarts years were still there.

“Oh, fuck, I’m so glad to hear you say that,” Ron sighed and squeezed her gently, “look, I’m sorry about Sirius…”

“Its fine. Could’ve been worse. Could’ve been you,” Hermione forced herself to laugh and elbowed him in the side playfully.

Ron rolled his eyes and tickled her sides, laughing along with her. And for a moment Hermione forgot the uncomfortable situation she was in.

 


	3. The one where they're reunited

“Sirius!” Hermione smiled and ran over to the man, wrapping her arms around his middle, “I can’t believe its really you.”

They arrived at St. Mungo’s at noon to pick up Sirius. Hermione shivered when she saw just how many people were in the hospital and she knew that it had been even more overfilled directly after the war. Hermione was excited to see the man, but she wished that it was under different circumstances.

Though she has managed to successfully convince herself that she shouldn’t think about it for now. Sirius was back from the Veil and that was wonderful. She wouldn’t let the knowledge that she’d have to marry him ruin her happiness.

Hermione blushed and pulled away, taking a step back to look over her soon-to-be husband. She quickly his the frown that was threatening to make itself show. Sirius looked… different. His hair was still long and he’d grown a light beard, but that wasn’t the reason for her concern. It seemed that he had lost a significant amount of weight, judging by how loose his clothes looked on him, his hollow cheeks and his sunken eyes.

Sirius looked nothing like he did the summer before their fifth year. If anything, he looked like the man she had seen on the Daily Prophet after he escaped Azkaban. He had the same haunted look in his eyes as then and Hermione shivered at the thought of what he had gone through these past few years.

“Sirius…” Hermione said his name again.

“Good to know my wife-to-be remembers my name,” Sirius nodded, obviously trying to lighten the mood, “oh, Molly. I don’t think I’ve seen you here since –”

“We wanted to make sure all of us were here to take you home,” Miss Weasley quickly interrupted him and looked at Harry, “are we ready to go? Is Grimmauld place livable?”

Harry nodded, a mischievous glint in his eyes, “yes, I’m sure Sirius will be glad to go back.”

“You couldn’t be more wrong,” Sirius mumbled and looked around the sterile room of the hospital, “but anything’s better than this.”

When they arrived at Grimmauld, Harry lead everyone inside, Sirius by his side and Ron and Ginny following him closely. Hermione didn’t really know what to expect, their grins making her feel as though they had a secret they were dying to share. Surely they wouldn’t smile when old Walburga would start screaming at them again.

But she never did.

They entered and the house was quiet apart from their footsteps and Sirius and Harry talking. Why was it so quiet ?

“Harry! How did you – “ Sirius smiled when he looked at the wall where his mother’s disgusting portrait had once been.

“Boo!” someone from the new painting yelled and Hermione stood on her tip toes to see what the new artwork was.

Immediately she recognized the Gryffindor common room and… Harry ? No, no it wasn’t Harry. Oh, they really did look so much like each other. Only a bit older and his eyes weren’t green, but there was no mistaking who the man was.

“James…” Sirius said and took a step closer to the portrait.

“For the record, I told him scaring you wouldn’t be the best greeting,” another voice chimed in and Remus Lupin entered the frame, healthier and happier than Hermione remember him.

“Remus,” Sirius mumbled, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Come on, you all, let’s go make some lunch,” Molly Weasley said and pushed everyone to the kitchen, speaking again when everyone except Sirius was present, “we ought to give them some privacy.”

“Harry how did you manage to get rid of that nasty portrait?” Hermione finally asked, watching the boy.

“Chemicals and some steel wool,” Harry shrugged with a smile, “for all her hate of muggles, she never really protected her portrait from them.”

“Brilliant,” Hermione whispered and shook her head at herself, feeling dumb for never considering muggle methods in this case.

“I thought it’d be a nice surprise for him.. he needs some cheering up,” Harry said, his smile gone now.

“He doesn’t seem too upset…” Hermione shrugged.

“He is. The nurses told me he can’t sleep during the night without dreamless sleep potion and other relaxing, calming potions. Even then, he wakes up or thrashes around his bed,” Harry said, “whatever he saw in the veil, it messed him up. He can pretend all her wants during the day, but there’s something wrong with him, we all see that.”

“There’s something wrong with this house too. No matter how much we scrub and clean, it looks just as depressive as before,” Ginny frowned, looking around the kitchen.

Hermione hated to agree. The house was beautiful in a creepy way, but her mood would be ruined if she’d have to live here alone. She realized how hard it must’ve been for Sirius when he couldn’t leave the house at all.

Obviously, though, the Weasleys and Potters had spent a long time redecorating the place. It was much brighter and overall nicer with some new decorations here and there. But Hermione felt as though there weren’t enough Gryffindor banners in the world to cheer this place up.

“Well, I’m sure Hermione will bring the liveliness this house is missing,” George winked and nudged Hermione with his elbow.

Immediately Hermione was reminded of the fact that she’d have to marry the Lord of this house. Would she have to live here too? With a frown, she looked down at her shoes before moving over to help Ron set the table.

“Sorry, he can be a real arse sometimes,” he whispered to her.

Hermione didn’t reply, just gave a short nod and set eight plates and glasses on the table. She knew this was for the best and for her own safety , but she still felt rightfully upset about the whole thing.

Of course, Sirius wasn’t the worst person in the world. He was kind and clever, not to mention handsome. But he was also very temperamental and had mood swings, and there was the small issue of him being twenty years older than her.

“Hermione,” Ron shook her and she noticed that she had been staring at the table for far too long, lost in her thoughts.

“Sorry,” she mumbled and sighed, “it’s just.. Ron, it’s Sirius. How am I supposed to marry him? He’s…”

“Clever, bold, handsome to the point of anger, arguably one of the best wizards in bed,” a deep voice sounded behind her and Hermione jumped by just how close he was to her,"and his--"

“Sirius ! Come over and help me with the… with the food,” Molly quickly said and grabbed Sirius by the back of his waistcoat, pulling him over to the stove.

“Mum’s taking it the worst,” Ron said while they pretended to be busy with setting the table, “not that the rest of us are for it, it’s just that we realize that it’s necessary. Mum on the other hand…”

“It’s nice that she cares for my well-being, but obviously this is better than me having to marry someone at random,” Hermione sighed and chewed her lip, “I just wish my first day back would've been happier than this.”

“Oh, it’ll be happy alright,” Ron smiled, “we have copious amounts of alcohol to celebrate your… um, your return.”

* * *

They did celebrate, but nobody ever really mentioned what exactly it was that they toasted to. After they had finished eating, they all settled into the living room, drinking and chatting. Hermione didn’t know if it was the wine or the whiskey, but she laughed and smiled with the rest of them.

They all carefully listened when she talked about her travels and they asked questions at the right times. It was pleasant telling them all of this, but she regretted leaving her things at the Burrow, since she couldn’t show them any of her pictures and souvenirs.

So they talked for hours about everything and everyone, except Sirius. He’d join in the conversations every once in a while at first, but when Hermione turned to ask him a question, she found him already gone.

It was definitely the firewhiskey that made her get up from the couch and make her way to the fourth floor of the house. Definitely the alcohol that made her walk up to his room and gently knock on it before opening the door.

“Sirius?” she asked quietly and all her liquid courage was gone that instant.

The room was empty.

Hermione realized she had never really explored the room before. She’d seen glimpses of it from the hallway, but she never dared to interrupt Sirius's privacy like that. But he wasn’t here and she only wanted to sneak a peek.

A giggle escaped her when she saw several posters with muggle women in bikinis. Oh, his mother must’ve wanted to murder him because of those. A large Gryffindor banner hung above the four post bed that must’ve been big enough to let 5 people lay comfortably with room to spare.

“Hermione?” a voice made her stop exploring the room with her eyes and she jumped, turning around to face Sirius in the doorway, “you know, if you keep doing that, I’ll just be convinced that you’re scared of me.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to –”

Sirius shook his head to stop her from continuing and took a swig from his whiskey bottle before marching over to his bed. Suddenly the room didn’t feel quite as comfortable as before. She couldn’t tell what, but somehow his demeanor made her want to leave immediately.

“Sorry… goodnight,” Hermione slowly said and watched him for a while more before turning and walking out, resisting the urge to just run down the stairs. She heard the door to his room slam shut and a loud thud, but she didn’t return to find out what it was.

* * *

Hermione woke up alone in the bedroom. Ginny’s bed seemed slept in, but the redhead herself was nowhere to be seen. Hermione sighed and sat up, rubbing her eyes and then her temples as a light headache took over her senses.

“Where is everyone ?” she asked when she entered the kitchen and saw Harry sitting by the table alone.

Harry first passed her a cup of coffee and a small glass filled with a thick brownish liquid. “It’ll help with the hangover,” he chuckled.

Hermione nodded and downed the potion, cringing at the awfully sweet taste it had, but found her headache to be immediately relieved by it. She sighed and leant back with her coffee and repeated her question from before.

“The Weasleys left for the Burrow earlier,” Harry explained, setting down his Daily Prophet, laughing a little, “Ginny’s too excited to plan another wedding.”

Hermione blushed and tried to hide it behind the oversized coffee mug in her hands, “I don’t need anything. We can just sign the papers and be done with it.”

“Oh, we all know, Hermione,” Harry laughed, “I felt the same way. But the Weasleys insisted on a proper wedding and a party. It’s the same deal now. It’ll be held there, just like the other weddings.”

“They shouldn’t.. I’m not even part of the family..”

“Of course you are,” Harry said and squeezed her shoulder, “besides, weddings are fun. They make you forget about everything else for a while.”

Hermione guessed that was true. And they all needed the distractions after the war and the horrors it brought with it. “I guess a small ceremony would be fine… I’m surprised, considering how Molly isn’t exactly happy about the whole thing.”

“She’s not,” Harry nodded and sighed, “but she’ll come to terms with it eventually. And it’s not really Molly behind the wedding, she probably wants nothing to do with it. Like I said… Ginny loves to plan weddings.”

“Oh, I didn’t even congratulate you!” Hermione gasped and leant over to hug him.

Harry laughed and patted her back, “yeah, if anyone is happy because of this law, it’s Ginny and I. Though we didn’t exactly think we’d get married so early.”

While they talked about how the marriage law came to be and how exactly it impacted them, Sirius entered the kitchen, grumbling something too quiet for Hermione to understand. Harry immediately explained what was behind Sirius’s foul mood, “Molly uh.. Molly got a bit angry at him in the morning.”

“A bit,” Sirius scoffed as he poured himself a glass of whiskey.

“Isn’t it a bit too early…?” Hermione asked, watching him down the glass in one go.

“I plan on getting drunk the second you leave which,” Sirius glanced at the watch on his hand “should be right about now.”

“Are you not going to come to the Burrow with us?” Hermione frowned.

“I wanted to. That’s what Molly got so bloody upset about,” Sirius frowned, “said I couldn’t come.”

Hermione bit her lip and looked at Harry. She understood why Miss Weasley was upset about her having to marry the man, but did that mean that she had to shut him out? Especially now, so soon after he returned.

“Who cares what Miss Weasley said, you’ll come with us,” Hermione shook her head.

Sirius laughed, but there was no humor in his voice, “I’d rather not. I’ll enjoy my last days of freedom while they last,” he took the rest of the whiskey bottle and headed to the living room.

Hermione pouted, “freedom… like marrying me would mean he’d stop anything he already does.”

“To be fair, you can be a bit bossy…” Harry shrugged and then immediately apologized when the girl glared at him ,”come on, let’s go. The others are waiting, probably.”

“Wait, we’re actually going to leave him alone ?” Hermione shook her head, “we can’t!”

“Hermione, he’s an adult. He’ll be fine. And he’s not alone, he’s got my dad and Remus for company,” Harry shrugged, but it didn’t really convince Hermione, “trust me, he’ll be fine.”

 


	4. The one where Hermione wears a pretty dress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Technically, I could've written the wedding ceremony in 1 chapter, but why do that when you can split it into multiple chapters and throw in a Sirius POV?

“The Ministry would like to remind you that Hermione Granger and Sirius Black are –”

“We know!” Molly yelled, the young ministry worked in front of her cringing at the volume of her voice, “we don’t need a reminder every week.

“I’m sorry, Miss, but it’s my job to remind everyone. We’ve had too many cases of wizards and witches trying to avoid the law.”

“Oh, I wonder why. Forced marriage is so wonderful,” Molly said and slammed the door in his face, “can’t get one day without being reminded of this.”

“We’ll be out of your house tomorrow, Miss Weasley,” Hermione mumbled and looked down.

She had been to the door first, but Molly had promptly pushed her aside and convinced her that she’d take care of it. Oh the poor wizard who had to listen to the shouting of the woman. He was just doing his job.

“Oh, no, dear,” she shook her head and forced a smile, “I wouldn’t mind if you’d stay here, in fact I think it’d be a wonderful idea. The house gets so lonely without the kids around.”

Hermione immediately shook her head. Although she’d like to stay in the warm, cozy home that was the Burrow, she didn’t feel right bothering the Weasleys even more. They had already spent the whole month with her wedding and the party, she couldn’t ask them for more.

“Miss Weasley, I’m sorry, but Sirius and I cannot –” Hermione noticed the slight cringe from the older woman when Sirius’s name left her lips.

Of course she had never meant for her and Sirius to move in permanently. Only Hermione. Harry had said that Miss Weasley would warm up to him the closer they got to the wedding, but, obviously, that was not the case. If anything, it made her even easier to anger, so they all learnt not to mention Sirius all too much.

“Miss Weasley,” Hermione frowned, her hands on her hips as she stared at the woman, “I love you and I care so much about you and your family, but this is getting ridiculous ! I’m marrying Sirius. Would you rather I’d sign up to get a random partner who’d turn out to be a blood purist ?”

“Hermione, of course I don’t want that happening to you, but—”

“No “but”. Sirius is a good man, I don’t care that you two don’t get along. This is for the best,” Hermione frowned and stormed out of the hallway and up the stairs, into her and Ginny’s room.

As she slammed the door open, Ginny immediately stumbled back a few steps. “Eavesdropping? Really?” Hermione frowned and groaned, sitting down on her bed.

“I’m sorry… I heard yelling and I –”

“It’s fine,” Hermione mumbled and rubbed her face, “don’t be offended, but your mum can be a real pain sometimes.”

“Oh, I know,” Ginny chuckled and sat next to her, “she wasn’t exactly a fan of the rest of our marriages either. Well, except for George and Percy. I think she just doesn’t want the rest of us to grow up so quick.”

“We were forced to grow up a long time ago,” Hermione sighed and rested her head on Ginny’s shoulder, “but still, she should be happy for you and Ron. It seems to me that you two have perfect matches.”

Ron had brought Lucy home a few months ago to introduce her to Hermione. She truly was a lovely woman and seemed completely in love with Ron. Hermione couldn’t help but love the girl.

“Yes, well, mum’s just wary about letting us go,” Ginny sighed, stroking Hermione’s hair, “the house has always been full of life and now it’s just her and dad.”

“I guess so… but it still doesn’t give her the right to oppose to Sirius and I.”

“Well, to be fair, they’ve always had a bit of a dislike towards each other. Mum loves you like her own, and giving you off to Sirius is something she did not wish to happen. She was always hoping you and Ron would get together,” Ginny laughed.

Hermione smiled a bit, but couldn’t get herself to laugh along with the red head. She understood partly why Miss Weasley was so against it, but she had to understand that it was for the best.

“I hope she’ll deal with it later,” Hermione whispered and sighed.

“Well, she’s got a whole 8 hours to deal with it,” Ginny smiled and kissed the top of her head, “she’ll understand, she just needs to get over her dislike of him.”

The eight hours flew by much too fast for her liking. Soon, Hermione was getting dressed with the help of Ginny and Fleur. The attention was making her feel sick.

Ginny and Fleur argued too much for her liking, so she soon asked them both to stop talking entirely. Ginny mumbled something too quiet to hear, but Hermione decided to ignore it.

Hermione took a breath when the girls stepped away and she stared at herself in the mirror. It looked nothing like the Hermione she was used to. This Hermione was breathtakingly gorgeous.

Her wedding gown was an A-line dress that stopped at the floor, so her simple white sandals weren’t even visible. The lace corset bodice defined her shape and her curves, which were usually hidden behind loose shirts or sweaters.

The neckline was a slight curve, which didn’t reveal too much. At first, Ginny had insisted on a V-neck, but Hermione immediately told her that she didn’t want to show so much of herself. After arguing, Ginny finally agreed on the final dress, even though she said it was “boring”.

It might’ve been boring to Ginny, but Hermione fell in love the second she saw it. Now that she was wearing it, she felt incredibly beautiful. Her hair fell over her shoulders in light waves and Fleur had let her borrow a beautiful necklace from her.

“Thank you,” she turned to the two girls and smiled, pulling them into a hug.

“Il n'y a pas de quoi,” Fleur said with a smile before they all turned when the door to Ginny’s room opened.

“Oh… oh wow,” Ron mumbled, taking in Hermione’s appearance, “you look… wow..”

Hermione blushed and looked down. Ginny rolled her eyes, “don’t let Lucy hear you say that, _Ronald_.”

Ron blushed and shook his head, “it’s just.. we can start whenever you’re ready.”

Hermione nodded and chewed her lip. Ron saw her nervousness and smiled, “it’ll be fine. Don’t worry,” he said before heading back outside to the tents where the wedding would be held.

They had agreed that Ginny, Fleur and Luna would be her bridesmaids and Mr. Weasley would lead her down the aisle. Apart from that, Hermione didn’t really know anything else. Ginny assured her that she’d love it, but Hermione wasn’t too keen on surprised.

When they finally reached the tents, she took Mr. Weasleys elbow as Ginny, Luna and Fleur left to go inside the tent. “Sweetheart, you’ll break my arm if you hold on so tight,” Arthur laughed and Hermione apologized, loosening her grip.

“Ready?”

“Ready.”

' _As ready as I’ll ever be_ ,' Hermione thought to herself.

 


	5. The one with Sirius's thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I'll always throw in a Sirius POV if the opportunity presents itself.

“You do realize you’re getting married, right ?” Harry frowned and stared down at the man on the couch, “in two hours, to be specific.”

“So, what you’re saying is that I can sleep for two more hours, right ?”

“Wrong. Get up. Please,” Harry sighed and glanced at Ron for help.

Ron pushed the curtains open and Sirius groaned as the light hit his face. “You know, they’re closed for a reason,” he frowned and pointed his wand at the curtains and made them close again.

“Oh, Hermione is a lucky woman indeed, ” George said with a grin.

With the mention of Hermione, Sirius groaned again and grabbed the nearly empty bottle of Ogden’s finest from the coffee table, but Harry grabbed it first and frowned, “no. You can drink after this is done.”

“All he’s been doing is drink and smoke,” Ron mumbled and frowned, “like marrying Hermione will kill him… again.”

“It’s not that,” Sirius grumbled and got up, grabbing Harry’s shoulder just in case, “helps me sleep.”

“So do potions,” Ron shrugged.

“Tried those at St. Mungo’s, I’m sure you’ve heard that they don’t work,” Sirius said and sighed, drinking the hangover cure Harry offered him, “now, if you’ll excuse me, I need a shower.”

Ron nodded, agreeing, and Sirius glared at him before disappearing to the bathroom. The various sleeping and calming potions the mediwitches had made him drink barely helped. If he was completely shitfaced from alcohol, it made things much easier for him. And when you put all of those drinks together… oh, then Sirius had a grand time.

When he had woken up at St. Mungo’s, they were all waiting for him. He was confused when they told him what had happened, because the last thing he remembered was dueling with Bellatrix. Though he knew they didn’t believe him, he really didn’t remember anything from the Veil.

So his nightmares came from other places. The war, in which he had a very minor plan. Really, if they had noticed when his nightmares started, then they’d know exactly what the cause was.

They didn’t want to tell him at first.

“ _He’s too weak, we can’t,_ ” that’s what they probably thought and said to eachother.

But when he asked why Remus wasn’t there, the glances they exchanged made everything clear to him. Then he demanded to know what the fuck had happened in the 3 years he was gone. They did say he wouldn’t like it, but he insisted and eventually he found out the horrors that the second wizarding war had brought to the world.

The dangerous mission the Trio had gone to. The surprising truth behind Dumbledore's death. His blood boiled when Harry told him about Bellatrix torturing Hermione. He gripped every word Harry said about the Final Battle.

Though all stories of war pained him and horrified him, there was only one that absolutely ruined him. It crushed him and he wished he was back in the Veil where he couldn’t feel a damn thing.

The one about Remus.

For fucks sake, why did it have to be Remus ? Sirius would gladly welcome back death if it meant his best friend and his wife would still be there. Fucking hell, it wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Harry tried to make him feel better by telling him that Remus and Tonks had a child, but it made things worse. Sirius had nobody, Harry would’ve been fine without him. Remus had a family. Remus had a son. A son who would never know their parents.

That’s where his nightmares came from.

Though he said he could handle it, obviously he was wrong about that. He felt guilty and sad, and fucking unwanted. 

Of course he was glad to see everyone again, but he couldn’t get over the nagging feeling that he was an unwanted guest. They were all smiles and warm welcomes, but what else were they to do ? It was just pleasantries.

Though his pride forbade him to ever question their motives loudly. Sirius fucking Black wouldn’t show his weaknesses. Unless he was dying, it didn’t matter.

“Sirius ! You’ve been in there for an hour,” Harry shouted, knocking on the door.

“I need to look presentable, no?” Sirius shrugged as he opened the door with a towel around his hips, “ I’m a natural beauty, but it does take a bit to look absolutely perfect.”

Harry rolled his eyes and stepped to the side so Sirius could walk past and into his room. “We picked up some dress robes in Diagon Alley so –”

“No need. You didn’t throw out my clothes and I think I have something appropriate I can wear,” Sirius shook his head.

“No leather,” Harry immediately said.

“Trust me, I’ll never go to a wedding in leather ever again. You only make that mistake once,” Sirius laughed and pushed his godson out of the room.

He sat on his bed and waved his wand at his closet, various color trousers, blazers and waistcoats flying out and levitating in the room. Though he itched to pick the red blazer, he finally decided on a navy blue blazer, a grey plaid waistcoat, a light blue dress shirt, a thin tie that matched his blazer and dark trousers, as well as dark brown dress shoes.

Once his clothes were on, he looked into the mirror in front of the bed and narrowed his eyes. “Turn around,” he commanded his reflection and the man obliged, “you look good, Sirius.”

“Thank you, Sirius,” his reflection replied and fixed his tie once he turned back around to face him.

Sirius did the button on his blazer and headed out and downstairs to the rest. “You cleaned up well,” Harry nodded and the rest of the boys gave approving nods.

“Are you ready?” Ron asked.

“Well, I’ve no choice but to be ready,” Sirius shrugged.

“Sirius Black, marrying… Remus, hold me, I think I might cry,” James said and wiped his eyes.

Remus rolled his eyes and shook his head, pushing James and his horrible acting skills out of the frame, “good luck, Sirius.”

“I’ll need it,” Sirius mumbled and went to the fireplace to floo over to the Burrow.

When he left the Weasleys fireplace, he pointed his wand at himself to clean his clothes from the ashes. “Nasty way to travel,” he mumbled and tucked his wand away, hearing the boys arrive soon after him.

“Go now, we’ll meet you in the tents,” Harry said and ushered Sirius out of the house.

“I can walk just fine by myself,” Sirius rolled his eyes and headed to the burgundy tents, seeing Bill and Charlie near the entrance, “an awful lot of guests, eh ? There can’t be that many people we know.”

“Actually, there are. A lot of Hogwarts staff is coming, plus your relatives –”

“My relatives ?”

“Andromeda and Teddy.”

“Ah, right,” Sirius nodded and his heart ached at the mention of Dromeda and Teddy.

“Plus most of the Order, as well as Hermione’s friends,” Charlie added and looked at his watch, “fifteen minutes to go.”

“Right… I’ll see you in fifteen minutes then,” Sirius said and went to the garden.

Sirius didn’t want to admit it, but he was nervous. With a smile, he remember James’s wedding to Lily and how poor Prongs had nearly passed out from the fear that his wife to be would run away. Except Lily never ran away, she loved James too much. Hermione, on the other hand, could run away any second now. Oh, his ego would die if she’d leave him at the altar, even if this was forced for both of them.

With a sigh, he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his inner pocket and lit one of them with his wand. Harry told him not to smoke today, since Hermione hated the habit, but it calmed him down so fuck that. He sat on a bench in the garden and put his foot up on the opposite knee.

“Nervous ? Because it’d be a miracle if you wouldn’t be. Everyone’s nervous. Molly wouldn’t stop yelling at everyone and everything.”

Sirius turned his head to see Arthur Weasley heading to him and sitting next to him. “Have you met Hermione today?” Sirius asked without really thinking, “how is she?”

“She’s dealing with it quite well. Nervous and scared, but overall she understands that this is necessary.”

“This is fucking unfair to her,” Sirius growled, taking a drag from the cigarette again, “she’s young, she’s smart and beautiful. She needs someone better.”

“You know, I thought your ego forbids you to say things like that,” Arthur laughed a little.

“Mood swings. Get used to it,” Sirius grumbled.

“Sirius,” Arthur’s laugh ended and the man turned to look at him, “ I’ll admit, we never thought this would happen, but… it’s not that bad. But I’ve been thinking more and more about it and I realized that you and Hermione –”

“Arthur ! Sirius needs to go inside,” Molly called before disappearing into the tent herself.

“Ah, sorry. You don’t want to miss your own wedding,” Arthur laughed and got up, “get rid of that smell though. She won’t like that.”

Sirius nodded and sighed throwing the fag on the ground and stepping on it. He cast a charm on himself to get rid of the tobacco smell and headed to the tent with Arthur, hearing the sound of the band playing. Arthur gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder, before he let Sirius enter the tent.

Without really paying attention to the décor or the guests, he went to the altar where Harry, Ron and an older wizard with no hair were already waiting for him. The older man must’ve been the wizard that’ll lead the ceremony. They all have him smiles, but he didn’t return any of them and instead stood stiffly, staring at the entrance of the tent.

Ginny, the French girl and the weird girl entered first. They all looked fine in their lilac dresses, but they quickly disappeared from his mind when he saw Mr. Weasley enter with… blimey, that was Hermione, wasn’t it?

Bloody hell she looked gorgeous.

Of course he knew Hermione was a beautiful woman, but he had never really _looked_ at her. To be fair, the last time he spent actual time with her she was, what, sixteen? She was barely a woman then, but now… well, now he certainly couldn’t help but stare at her.

“You look beautiful,” he whispered to her when she reached him and have a grin when she blushed and looked down. He assumed that was a “thank you”.

Sirius squeezed her hand gently, trying to tell her it’d all be okay. After all, he had to marry her to keep her safe and he was planning on doing just that. 


	6. The one with the kiss

Hermione gripped Mr. Weasleys arm and walked slowly in time with the music. She didn’t enjoy the knowledge that absolutely everyone in the tent was staring at her. It made her feel uneasy and she couldn’t wait for this to be over with.

Though the tent was beautiful. The inside was charmed to look like a forest clearing, with ivy covering the tent from the inside. Lovely flowers in red and gold stood in glass vases along the white carpet. She didn’t really get much of a chance to look around before Mr. Weasley gave her over to Sirius, who immediately took her hand.

“You look beautiful,” he whispered to her and she couldn’t help but blush and look down.

 _He_ looked good too. 

The last time she saw him was a couple days ago when she brought her things over to Grimmauld place with Harry. His godson had made sure that Sirius ate properly, so he had gained most of his lost pounds back and, well, his clothes fit him good. _Very_ good, indeed. Thoughts like these, made her cheeks turn into an even darker shade of pink. She hadn't had much time to ogle at boys during her teen years and she'd rather not start now.

All these years Hermione had seen him as a criminal and then Harry’s godfather. Now, she saw him as _just_ Sirius. And _just_ Sirius was handsome as hell.

Hermione felt his hand squeeze hers and she looked up at him to give him a small smile. She didn’t want him to worry about her.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of two faithful souls...”

Hermione, regretfully, didn’t really pay much attention to what was said and done. She just went through the motions and repeated what she had to in order to create a marriage bond between her and Sirius. The rest of the time, she was lost in his eyes.

His eyes were the color of smoke, of steel, like the ashes in a dying fire. Now that she was able to really look into them, she was completely at his mercy. She was lost in his eyes and looking away was unthinkable. No, she couldn’t think of him like this.

 _“He’s Harry’s godfather,”_ she tried to repeat in her mind.

It must’ve been some childish crush of hers resurfacing just for the night. It’ll pass. Oh please Merlin let it pass. She was embarrassed by her own thoughts.  

“You may kiss the bride.”

Hermione didn’t move. They never let go of each others hands, only to exchange rings, and now she was clinging onto it for dear life. His eyes and his hand gripping hers were the only things keeping her from shaking. His other hand moved to her face, his palm cupping her cheek gently before he leant and pressed their lips together.

It was gentle.

It was sweet.

It was nothing like she imagined Sirius Black to kiss.

Only then her eyes closed and she gently kissed him back, knowing that he was holding back. It’s not that it wasn’t good, Sirius was good even when he was holding himself back, but it was just nothing like she expected it to be. Not that… not that she’d ever thought about how he’d kiss other women.

Then again, why would Sirius kiss her like other women ? She _wasn’t_ a woman in his eyes, she was his godson’s best friend. Her heart suddenly ached at the thought that the kiss foreshadowed their marriage. Sirius kissed her only because he _had_ to, not because he _wanted_ to.

When they pulled away, Sirius kissed her forehead gently and took her arm, turning to the guests. Hermione turned with him but avoided looking directly at the smiling, slightly concerned, faces staring back at her.

Immediately she was overwhelmed by the amount of people that came up to congratulate her and hug her. Hermione played along and let go of Sirius to talk to the guests while the Weasleys prepared the tent for the reception.

The walls of the tent disappeared and a dance floor appeared. The chairs were all pushed to the side along with small round tables that appeared from God knows where. It reminded Hermione of Bill and Fleur’s wedding. Except she had been a lot happier then.

The band started playing once more, a slow ballad which made the well wishers retreat and move to the tables and chairs, leaving Hermione and Sirius in the middle. “We have to be the first pair to dance, love, it’s tradition,” Sirius whispered and moved one of his hands to her waist and the other to hold her hand.

Sirius gently lead her around the middle of the tent, he moved his hand more to rest on her back and pulled her closer against him as they danced along to the music. Hermione noticed the other guests joining them, but, once again, it proved to be impossible to shift her attention away from Sirius.

“I know this isn’t what you wanted your wedding to be like,” Sirius slowly said, moving her hand that was holding his to his shoulder, then wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close to his chest.

“Sirius –”

“Let me speak,” Sirius interrupted and shook his head, he took a deep breath and continued, “you don’t have to pretend, you don’t have to be nice. I know you don’t want me and I am fine with that. When Arthur told me about this, I only agreed because it was for your safety.”

“I want you to be happy and safe,” Sirius said and stroked her back gently, “I’m not sure how happy I can make you, but I’ll keep you safe no matter what.”

Hermione pulled away from his arms when the song ended and spotted Charlie drinking wine at one of the tables with Hagrid. Without giving Sirius a glance, she went to the redhead and joined them, grabbing a glass of champagne from a waiter on her way there .

“Charlie, Hagrid,” Hermione smiled at them, “can I sit here?”

“Of course,” Charlie nodded and shifted his attention from Ginny and Harry to Hermione, “we were just talking about –”

“Dragons?” Hermione winked at Hagrid and smiled.

“Guilty,” Charlie nodded and laughed.

“You don’t seem all too happy, Hermione,” Hagrid said, drinking a glass of wine like it was a shot of firewhiskey.

“Sirius is a good bloke,” Charlie shrugged, “the situation isn’t ideal, but it could’ve been a while lot worse.”

“I guess so… and I appreciate what he’s done, but…” Hermione sighed and looked over, only to frown when she saw Sirius again.

Sirius had discarded his blazer somewhere and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows. God, she didn’t want to be rude, but even with his clothes still on she could already tell that he had a much better body than Ron, who was two decades younger and had always loved food too much. But that wasn’t really what had her staring at him for so long.

It was the brunette witch on his arm that he laughed and danced with, holding her much too close to her liking. Though she couldn’t see her face, she saw Sirius’s clearly. He looked happier and more carefree with her, and that made something awaken inside of her that she couldn’t quite understand. She felt the same fire of jealousy within her from when Ron had first mentioned Lucy back at the Burrow. Only this time it didn’t make much sense to her.

“Are you alright?” Charlie asked and touched her shoulder.

“I’m fine,” Hermione mumbled and turned her head away, drinking the whole wine glass in one go, “how come you’re the only Weasley not married?

“Oh, Mum did send me a  _few_ owls about your situation, but, I’m sorry, I had to decline. I’m not obliged to marry, since I don’t live in the country anymore, so I can do as I please,” Charlie shrugged, "besides, the whole idea was for you to take a husband that would keep you safe and I can't do that, since I'd be away most of the time. I'm sorry."

“Ah…” Hermione nodded, “dragons are more important , I guess ?”

“That they are !” Hagrid called and grinned, immediately turning to Charlie to talk about the beasts.

The rest of the night she didn’t even go close to her new husband. She made a point to dance with all of her friends and so, even if she would’ve wanted to be with him, she simply did not have time for anything else. Only when the last song started playing did Harry convince her to go dance with Sirius again. Somehow the look he gave her made her ashamed of how cold she was towards Sirius after their first dance, so she reluctantly agreed.

Hermione hadn’t touched any alcohol after the one wine glass, whereas Sirius seemed to drink half of the overall alcohol that had been provided, if the empty glasses covering the table were anything to go onto. When she approached him, he was hugging Andromeda Tonks to his side and holding Teddy in his lap, the boy seeming to be close to sleep. Immediately Hermione recognized the brunette from before and felt her cheeks redden, feeling embarrassed about the moment of jealousy she had before.

“Hermione,” Dromeda smiled and lifted Sirius’s head from her shoulder, “Sirius, remember what we talked about, alright ?”

“Alright,” Sirius mumbled and carefully passed Teddy to the woman, before turning to Hermione with a smirk, “save the last dance for me?”

“If you want to dance with me, that is,” Hermione said, trying to make herself sound cool and uninterested, but failing.

“Can’t say no to a pretty girl like you, love,” Sirius said and grabbed her waist before leading her to the dance floor.

Considering that he reeked like alcohol and Hermione would avoid lighting any fires near him, he held his balance pretty well. He stuttered while he talked and personal space was no longer a thing that existed, although Sirius always had a problem with the latter.

Sirius held her close and nuzzled his face against her neck, swaying with her to the music. Hermione tried to be angry at him because of his drunkenness or of the overall situation they were in. But she couldn’t, not when his “dancing” was more or less a hug that lasted several minutes. Hermione couldn't understand what he was saying against her neck, but his breath tickled and she couldn't help but twitch. Sirius must've thought it was amusing, because once he understood what was happening, his fingers shot to her sides to tickle her more.

"Sirius, stop," Hermione whispered and was a bit surprised when the wizard obliged without arguing. 

"I'm sorry," Sirius said and Hermione could tell by his voice that he didn't mean the tickling, "I know I'm--"

“One last cheer for Sirius and Hermione !” someone called from the crowd when the band stopped playing.

Hermione waited for him to continue his thought, but the interruption had apparently made him forget all about what he was saying. She felt him laugh against her neck and he slowly dragged his face up her neck before their lips met again. But this wasn’t like the kiss they had shared before. It was passionate and rough. He nibbled her lip, one of his hands on the small of her back and the other on the back of her neck, to pull her deeper into the kiss. It made her body tingle and a warm heat rise in the pit of her stomach.

Now _that_ was how she imagined Sirius Black to kiss.

All her thoughts from before were erased by his lips and hands. She melted in his arms and felt grateful that he was capable of holding her up. If there was any part of her that felt wrong or guilty for not pushing him away, then she ignored it - she could feel bad about it tomorrow. She doubted they’d share many kisses, so she might as well enjoy it while it lasts.

One of her hands gripped his hair, eliciting a low groan from him when she gently tugged on it, while the other gripped the waistcoat on his chest. His arm wrapped around her hips and he pulled her as close as humanly possible to him and she whimpered at the feeling of their bodies being so close.

 _“He’s Harry’s godfather,”_ she reminded herself once, but her body didn’t care one bit what her mind was trying to tell her. 


	7. The one with her screams

Sirius didn’t think that he’d ever marry. Commitment had never really been one of his strengths. He shagged witches left and right, but he hadn’t even done that ever since Azkaban happened.

Not like he had the time to. First he spent years in Azkaban, then he was on the run, then he was stuck in Grimmauld Place, then he was stuck in the Veil and now he was married. He was confident that he hadn’t lost his charm or ability to woo women, nor had he lost his handsome face thank you very much. He simply did not have the time nor the chance to indulge in his favorite hobby.

Maybe that’s why he decided to kiss her again. He had been very thoughtful with their kiss after their vows, he doubted that Hermione would want to have his lips on her for longer than necessary. However, hours after that and too many glasses of wine, champagne and firewhiskey, he decided to throw caution away and let his need win over him. There was something about a woman’s lips that made him forget the rules and take what he wanted. He was only a man after all.

Truthfully, he was surprised she didn’t pull away and slap him across the face. He knew she was capable of this, so he was ready for the blow, but she never did hit him. Actually, she kissed him back and her hands gripped his clothes and hair, which made him groan since he hadn’t expected the little witch to cooperate so much.

Future Sirius would kill present Sirius, but fuck that poor sod. Can’t a man have at least a few happy moments in his own wedding ? With a last gentle bite to her lip, he pulled away and smirked. For a second he considered she might be drunk as well, but she didn’t seem intoxicated, which made him even prouder that he didn’t get smacked for kissing her.

“Sirius, you dog,” George grinned and hit his back with his palm.

“s my wedding, eh ? Might as well,” Sirius shrugged and looked at the boy behind him, letting go of Hermione. Most of the guests were leaving while they spoke.

“Mum says she already took all the presents to Grimmauld place. She expects the two of you for breakfast tomorrow,” George winked, “she’d like for Hermione to stay the night, but we convinced her that she shouldn’t worry.. but now, I’m not so sure.”

Sirius looked at Hermione, her face was almost as red as George’s hair. Even though his mind was a bit hazy, he immediately regretted his decision. Sooner than he would’ve liked, actually. But the embarrassed face on the girl’s face made Sirius mentally slap himself.

“Fuck, ’m sorry,” Sirius said and rubbed his face, “stay at the Burrow, ’m sure Molly would be happy.”

“No,” Hermione mumbled and hugged herself, “if I stay, Ginny will just keep me up all night and – I’ll come to Grimmauld.”

A part of him wished she’d come because she wanted to spend the night with him, but it was a silly thought. She probably just didn’t want to receive more embarrassment from the Weasleys. George did it to tease her and Ginny simply didn’t realize how her questions could be embarrassing and outright dirty sometimes. Sirius wasn’t affected by it, but he had no doubts that other people might not be okay with talking so openly about things like that.

Sirius never made eye contact with the redhead when he was at the Burrow and he always made sure to never be alone with her, but that didn’t stop Ginny from talking about things like those when her parents weren’t around. This, naturally, made the rest of the Weasleys, Hermione and Harry feel rather uncomfortable. _Apparently_ , they all thought talking about the tips on how to choke someone during sex wasn’t really appropriate during breakfast.

“Well, your things are already there, so might as well,” Sirius slurred and headed to the Burrow with Hermione following.

“You are so drunk… how many drinks did you have ?” Hermione whispered to him when she caught up.

“Enough,” Sirius laughed and tried to focus on walking in a straight line, “shit, I didn’t say bye to Dromeda and –”

“They’ll come over for breakfast, they’re family after all,” Hermione shook her head, “don’t worry.”

“Ow! Fuckin' hell,” Sirius grunted when he stumbled and fell against the side of the Burrow, “this is the part of being drunk that I don’t like.”

“Come on, I’ll get you a sober up potion when we get back to Grimmauld,” Hermione and Harry knew exactly where those potions were kept, “if you can manage to get to the house, that is. I don’t really want to Apparate with you being so drunk.”

“’m Sirius fuckin' Black, of course I can do it,” he grumbled and pushed off the wall and made his way into the Burrow and to the fireplace with her.

Hermione quickly said her goodbyes to the Weasleys and Harry before stepping into the fireplace with him and flooing to his shitty house. “I can’t wait to get out of this dress,” Hermione frowned as she stepped out of the fireplace and headed to the kitchen to get Sirius his much needed potion.

“Is that a hint?” Sirius winked and followed her, using the wall to support himself.

Hermione looked at him with a raised brow, before she understood what he meant and she blushed furiously again, “no… I… that is not what I meant.”

“I know, I know,” Sirius laughed and let himself fall down on one of the chairs by the table while Hermione rummaged through one of the cupboards and picked out a vial full of the brownish potion he needed.

It took a bit to kick in , but his thoughts were clear again and he was indeed going to murder past Sirius for his actions. Although most of the time he preferred to simply sleep until the alcohol left him, this time he very much appreciated the potion speeding up the process. “Look, I’m sorry about kissing you again. Firewhiskey makes me… dumb. You looked so gorgeous and it’s been a while since I’ve—"

“No, it’s fine… the only thing I have to worry about is what Ginny will have to say. Not that many people saw it, anyways,” Hermione mumbled and fumbled with the laces on the corset of the dress, “and you were drunk… very drunk. You already have problems being proper while you’re sober.”

Hermione was right. Too many times James, Remus, Lily, hell even Peter had been victim to his need of touch. He didn't even need to be drunk to hug or cuddle his friends. 

Sirius got up and walked up behind her to untie the laces that held her dress in place. He made sure he didn’t touch any of her exposed skin. “There,” he said once he was done and Hermione held the dress against her chest so it wouldn’t fall down.

“Thank you,” Hermione whispered and avoided looking at him.

There was nothing else to say so he left the girl in the kitchen to make his way up to his room. He had stacks of 3 years worth of the Daily Prophet by his bed and he needed to read every last one of them. Sirius didn’t like being in the dark about what had happened while he was gone and he eagerly read every little detail.

Sirius took off his waistcoat and his tie along with his shoes before climbing into his bed and taking 10 newspapers with him. He was still only reading the 1997 papers, so he had a long way to go until he’d reach the current year.

When he woke up, he found that he had ripped apart the newspaper he had been reading before he accidentally fell asleep. Damned nightmares. The fucking screaming in his head had woken him up again. Except usually it stopped after he woke up…

Oh, fuck, it wasn’t in his head. It was coming from his house.

_Hermione_.

Sirius ran down the stairs , jumping two steps at a time. “ _Lumos_ ,” he shouted at his wand and eliminated the hallways and ran to the room that Hermione and Ginny shared a few summers ago. He slammed the door open and fully expected an Intruder.

But he should’ve known that it wasn’t an intruder. Nobody could break into Grimmauld. In hindsight, it was even stupid to think something like that.

“Hermione,” he frowned as he saw the poor girl thrashing in her bed, screaming her lungs out and grabbing her forearm.

Sirius didn’t waste any more time before he climbed into the bed with her and pulled her to him, gently pinning her arms to her sides so she wouldn’t hurt herself. He put his wand on the nightstand after extinguishing the light and held Hermione to him, “it’s okay, love, I’m here.. I’m here…”

Hermione must’ve finally woken up because she jumped and started fighting to get out of his arms, “no! Let me go!”

“Not until you calm down,” Sirius whispered and she finally calmed down, a quiet sob escaping her when she turned to bury her face in his chest.

Sirius sighed and laid down with her and pulled her against his side, “do you want me to leave ?”

Hermione stayed quiet for too long, he thought she might’ve went back to sleep actually, before he felt her shake her head and mumbled a quiet “no”.

“Alright, love. I can get you a calming draught, if you’d like,” he suggested, stroking her hair gently.

“No… no I’m fine,” Hermione said, “I’m sorry I woke you up. I forgot to cast a silencing charm tonight, I don’t know how I forgot...”

Immediately he understood what she meant, because he did the same thing when Harry, Hermione or someone else stayed the night at Grimmauld place. Thank fuck the house was empty most of the time, so he could forget to cast the charm and not worry about the screams, moans and sobs that filled his house.

Sirius frowned at that, “fucking hell, Harry said it was bad, but you have to cast silencing charms every night?”

With that, Hermione sobbed again and he felt the fabric of his shirt dampen. Sirius cursed himself in his head for not sounding empathic at all with her. Thinking before he spoke never was something he could remember to do.

“Fuck, I’m sorry,” he apologized and sighed, “I never thought it was so bad for you.”

“It's stupid… she’s dead, but I’m still so scared,” she whispered.

Sirius didn’t need an explanation on who ‘she’ was. His fucking cousin tortured the poor girl, scarred her for life and she didn’t let her have peace even after she was killed. Sirius’s blood boiled, but it wasn’t just anger at Bellatrix, he felt guilty. It was his cousin after all, it was _his_ family that hurt her so bad.

Although he didn’t know all of the details, he knew enough. Sirius knew about all the scars she had received from Bellatrix, both emotional and physical ones. Fuck, it killed him to know that it was his own family that hurt the poor girl so much.

“It’s not stupid, don’t say that. She…” Sirius started but didn’t find the right words to tell her just how fucking awful the woman was, “you’re incredibly brave and strong. Not many people would’ve been able to stay sane after that.”

Sirius remember Alice and Frank, and he forgot how to breathe for a second when he imagined Hermione like that. “I’m sorry” he whispered and kissed the top of her head.

“Can we talk about something else?” Hermione asked after silence set in.

“Of course. Anything.”

“Tell me about your years at Hogwarts.”

“The best years of my life,” Sirius nodded and smiled to himself, “I met James and Remus on the train. I’ll just pretend the fucking prat Peter doesn’t exist, alright?”

“James was like Harry, but not quite. He was always joking and never was that serious, and he was obsessed with Lily and always tried to get on her good side. Evans was smart and stubborn, so she hexed James more often than not, which, apparently, meant that she was madly in love with him, according to James. Poor bloke, poor stubborn bloke, but at least he got her in the end, so maybe he was onto something.”

“And Remus?”

“We only managed to win Remus over after pestering him for a while. The poor kid was so shy and I guess he was afraid of making friends. It’s probably because his parents never let him befriend any children before,” Sirius said, “finally, it took some work, but we won him over. It may or may not have involved copious amounts of chocolate.”

“I never told you how sorry I am about Remus…”

“It’s fine. I’ve gotten over it by now,” Sirius lied and closed his eyes.

Sirius had heard warnings about people losing themselves by talking to the portraits of lost loved ones. He never really thought it’d be possible, but he found himself spending hours, just talking to Remus and James. Well, _almost_ Remus and James. It wasn’t them, not really, he knew that, but it was comforting to hear their voices again after so long.

“I miss him. He was always a mentor for us…” Hermione whispered and he felt her sigh.

“Ron said you had a crush on him,” Sirius added in order to lighten the mood.

“I did not!” Hermione quickly said, “that is absolutely ridiculous and I – only while he was our professor and only for a few months.”

“Oh, I’m sure his portrait will like to hear that,” Sirius chuckled, “can’t say I was surprised. He seems like the person you’d go after. He was smart, generous, kind and his face wasn’t too horrible, either, eh?”

“Stop it,” Hermione said with a small laugh, “it was just a schoolgirl crush…”

“Ever have a crush on me?”

“No.”

“Say yes or I’ll make you say yes,” Sirius chuckled and slowly inched his fingers to her side.

“Someone’s not used to rejection?” Hermione giggled, then giggled even more when his fingers tickled her side, “okay, okay, I might’ve fancied you at one point. Not for long, though, and Ginny was to blame.”

“Oh I’m sure you did. No woman escapes my charm,” Sirius winked, “there’s a reason boys hated me in school.”

Hermione giggled again.

“Hey, don’t laugh. It’s true ! But it wasn’t always hot and nice to be the most handsome devil in the whole castle. You should’ve seen how many girls sent me chocolates laced with love potions,” Sirius grinned.

“Oh, you poor boy,” judging by the tone of her voice, she was smiling. Good.

“This face is both a blessing and a curse, love,” Sirius grinned, then gently squeezed her in his arms, “you should sleep. If Molly sees that you haven’t slept all night, she might actually murder me.”

“I guess so… you can go, if you want,” Hermione said after a while and moved to let him leave.

Sirius didn’t even consider it for a second. He pulled her back to him and let her curl up against his side with her head on his chest. The only worry he had was that he’d have a nightmare. After all, he was here to protect her and he didn’t want her to see how weak he could get during the night.

“Goodnight, love,” he said and kissed her hair, holding her close.

Thank Merlin their nightmares didn’t return that night.


	8. The one where everyone says the wrong things

Hermione woke up, hearing a quiet, steady thumping noise. She opened her eyes slowly and took in her surroundings. The first thing she noticed were the arms wrapped around her, then the color blue and the smell of firewhiskey.

Immediately she remember the events of the night. She cursed herself in her mind. The one day where it mattered the most, she forgot to cast the Silencing Charm on her room. Now Sirius knew just how bad her dreams got and she felt guilty for making him comfort her instead of sleeping through the night.

Somehow she only felt embarrassed about showing him how weak she was, not about spending the night in the same bed as him. Then again, she had cuddled with both Ron and Harry when her nightmares, or theirs, got too bad. Friends did that – friends protected and helped each other. There wasn’t anything wrong in what they were doing.

Hermione sighed and raised her head from his chest, the thumping sound stopping then. She leant up on her elbow and looked at the wizard in her bed. He was still in the clothes from last night, his tattoos peeking out from his rolled up sleeves and the collar of his shirt. She’d always been intrigued by them, but she’d never really asked where he got them.

His face was partly covered by his hair, so she reached up to gently push it out of his face. The second her fingertips grazed his cheekbone, Sirius’s hand shot up and he grabbed her wrist so tight she let out a small whimper.

“Oh, fuck, sorry,” he mumbled, his voice even deeper than usual in the morning.

Sirius immediately let go of her and she sat up in the bed, “I’m sorry about last night. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s fine. I wasn’t sleeping anyways,” Sirius shrugged and rubbed his face while sitting up, “I guess we have to go back to the Burrow now?”

“Yes,” Hermione said and chewed her lip, remembering their kiss and how she really didn’t want to talk about it, or even think about it, really.

“I’ll meet you there then,” Sirius said and disappeared from her room without another word.

Hermione arrived at the Burrow first after freshening up and changing her clothes. It seemed the house was already awake and everyone was going on and on about the wedding. Especially Ginny.

“Oh, but did you see how –” Ginny started, but stopped when Hermione came into the room, “ _Hermione !_ How are you ? Sore ?”

Harry spat out the coffee he was drinking and frowned, shaking his head, “don’t do that. Just… no.”

“What? It’s perfectly normal. I’m sure you remember _our_ wedding night,” Ginny shrugged.

“Yes and I’d appreciate if we wouldn’t talk about it right now,” Harry mumbled and looked down, purposely avoiding the look Ron was giving him.

Hermione already wished she could go back to Grimmauld place. At least she’d have some peace and quiet, maybe she’d be able to hide form everyone in the library. She could do without Ginny’s prying questions.

“Tell us what happened, we won’t tell mum, I promise,” Ginny winked and leant forwards.

“Won’t tell me what?” Molly Weasley entered and looked at the kids sitting at the table suspiciously.

“About what Sirius and Hermione did during the night,” a blonde witch sitting next to Ron replied, obviously not really knowing Molly’s feelings towards the “ _couple_ ”.

“We didn’t do anything,” Hermione rolled her eyes.

Of course she wouldn’t tell them about the nights events. Not that it was a secret or embarrassing, but she didn’t want them to worry about her nightmares. Ever since she had started casting the silencing charm on her bed, they had assumed that the dreams stopped. She loved them, but they could be overly protective sometimes and she didn’t want them to worry.

Harry and Molly both let out sighs of relief. Hermione didn’t feel mad at Harry’s reaction, though, it was his godfather and she was his best friend. She couldn’t imagine how she’d react if she was put in his situation, but she probably would never take it as well as the boy had.

But she wouldn’t waste her energy by getting angry at Molly Weasley again. As long as she wouldn’t badmouth Sirius, she wouldn’t start an argument. It wasn’t worth it, since the older witch obviously wouldn’t change her mind so easily.

“Good morning,” Sirius said as he walked into the room and sat down between Lucy and Hermione, “where’s the rest of the family ?”

“At work. They all only got the one day off,” Harry explained as he ate his porridge, “Teddy and Andromeda said they’d be here at around 10.”

“Right,” Sirius nodded and clapped his hands and rubbed them against each other, “well, I’m hungry like a wolf.”

“Oh yeah? Exhausting night?” Ginny winked.

“ _Ginny_ ,” Hermione warned and looked at her.

“Okay, sorry, sorry, I get it,” Ginny raised her hands up in defeat.

“You have the same amount of shame as everyone in house Black – absolutely none,” Sirius winked and ate his eggs and bacon, drinking black coffee with it.

“You’re not that bad. At least you don’t talk about,” Hermione cleared her throat and threw a glare at Ginny, “ _intimate_ things at inappropriate moments.”

“Well, to be fair, I’ve had years to learn not to do that,” Sirius laughed, “you should’ve seen me at Hogwarts.”

“My mother knew you in Hogwarts,” Lucy suddenly spoke up and Hermione looked towards her, “do you remember her ? Ellaria Hurst, she was in the same year as you and a Hufflepuff.”

“Ellaria Hurst…” Sirius slowly repeated as if it’d help his memory, “hmm, no, I don’t think I –”

Hermione watched as his face paled a bit and he froze for a second. He cleared his throat and shook his head, “no, can’t remember her, sorry.”

“Guess she wasn’t really that memorable,” Lucy shrugged and went back to her breakfast.

The kitchen slowly emptied until only Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Sirius were left behind. Molly had finally given them privacy to tend to the chickens and Ron and Lucy had gone off together without anyone else asking them questions. Andromeda and Teddy still hadn’t showed up, but it wasn’t ten yet so nobody worried.

“What was that all about ?” Ginny immediately asked Sirius, grinning like a child on Christmas, “what did you do to Ellaria Hurst?”

“A number of things,” Sirius mumbled and rubbed the back of his neck, “turns out Hufflepuffs can be quite.. erm.. kinky. I didn’t want to tell the poor girl I shagged her mother.”

“You did not shag Ron’s mother in law,” Harry slowly shook his head and rubbed his face, “Sirius…”

“Oh my god,” Hermione whispered and shook her head, “nobody tells anyone.”

“I’m fine with that,” Sirius nodded.

“I want details,” Ginny said and rested her chin in her hands.

“I don’t,” Harry shook his head and pretty much ran from the kitchen.

“You won’t follow him?” Sirius looked at Hermione and chuckled.

“It’s Ron’s mother in law… I want to know,” Hermione shrugged and looked down, fumbling with her hands.

“Oh no, one night being married to me and I’m already influencing you. Talking about sex comes first, then comes the drinking and smoking.”

“You smoke?” Hermione frowned.

Harry knew about her dislike of the smell, he should’ve told her. Then again, she’d never caught him in the act, so perhaps Sirius knew about it and tried to be careful with it. There was something comforting about that.

“Of course not,” Sirius coughed and shook his head, “so about Ellaria..”

“It was sixth year. She was kind of quiet, never really noticed her. Well, one day she comes up to me and tells me that she’s got a crush on me. I didn’t feel the same, but she was a pretty little thing, and I was seventeen…”

Sirius told the story about the two sneaking into Charms class after curfew and how Ellaria and her peculiar tastes had initially surprised him. “Not in a bad way, she was just always so quiet and shit,” he shrugged.

“She _punched_ you!?” Hermione frowned and shook her head.

“It was great,” Sirius nodded and continued as if that was obvious.

Hermione frowned and crossed her arms on her chest as she listened to the rest of his story. Thankfully, Sirius didn’t go in the details as deeply as Ginny probably would’ve liked. Now her embarrassment about listening to something so private was exchanged with confusion and light anger at this Ellaria.

“Hermione, I know sex isn’t really your strong part, but that’s not even the worst thing ever,” Ginny laughed once Sirius finished and Hermione still had the same expression of her face, “really, it’s just rough sex. _Very_ rough sex.”

“But sex is supposed to be… you know… _loving_ ,” Hermione mumbled.

Immediately the two burst out laughing. Sirius shook his head and grinned, “you’re absolutely adorable.”

“I am not,” Hermione frowned and glared at them both, “stop laughing !”

“Well, you’ve obviously never really had much sex, because it’s not all gentle kisses and strokes,” Ginny giggled, then gasped, “no. Hermione, no.”

Hermione blushed and sighed, “stop talking so loud.”

“But Ron…”

“Ron and I never got that far,” she mumbled and really, really regretted being so curious with staying here.

“Oh Merlin, you sweet little innocent thing,” Ginny mumbled and covered her mouth.

“Sorry, I thought you –“

“I don’t want to talk about my sex life,” Hermione frowned , interrupting Sirius just as a “pop” came from the fireplace and a brunette, carrying a pink haired boy.

Thankful for their sudden appearance, Hermione smiled and went over to kiss the boy’s head, “hello, little man.”

Teddy giggled at her and Hermione smiled before turning back to the two at the table, “I’ll be heading back to Grimmauld place,” she looked at the brunette and said goodbye to her before stepping into the fireplace.

When she reappeared in the living room of Grimmauld place, she pouted and quickly headed to the library on the second floor. She had embarrassed herself in front of Sirius and Ginny and she was sure that they were laughing now at her inexperience.

Hermione sat down between two shelves and hugged her knees to her chest. She’d never intended to mention that to anyone, especially Sirius and Ginny, but she hadn’t gotten past second base with Ron. Now her curiosity to hear what exactly happened between Sirius and Lucy’s mum had ruined her day completely and made her a laughing stock.

“Hermione?” a voice above her asked and she jumped, quickly turning only to see Remus walk into the landscape painting above her, “what’s wrong?”

Oh no, she could _not_ have this conversation with her ex-professor. “It’s nothing,” Hermione shook her head and smiled a bit, “I just needed to be alone.”

“You are a horrible liar,” Remus said and leant against the frame of the painting, “you know you can tell me anything.”

“I know, but this is… this is private,” she mumbled and looked down, feeling the blush return.

“I understand…” Remus nodded slowly, “whatever it is, Hermione, I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think. Especially if it involved Sirius.”

“It’s not his fault… I accidentally told Sirius and Ginny something about myself that I really shouldn’t have.”

“Do you think they’ll think less of you now that they know this secret of yours?”

Hermione nodded and pouted a little, looking down. Remus sighed, “Hermione, they would never do that. I don’t know Ginny too well, but I know Sirius and, unless your secret is that you’re actually a Death Eater, he won’t judge you. He didn’t judge me.”

“That’s different… your problem couldn’t be solved. Mine is my own fault,” she mumbled

“Why don’t you fix it then?”

“I’m scared,” she admitted and pouted again.

“Is it really worse than fighting Voldemort?” Remus chuckled and Hermione couldn’t help but smile a little.

 


	9. The one with comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad y'all liked Remus last chapter. I love him a lot, so it's impossible for me not to include him.

“Fuck, why did I have to start talking about Ellaria,” Sirius frowned and rubbed his face, “bloody idiot.”

“Language!” Andromeda frowned and smacked the back of his head, then turned to Ginny, “sweetheart, be so kind and bring Teddy to Harry. He couldn’t wait to see his favorite godfather.”

Ginny nodded and took Teddy and left the room, not saying another word which, frankly, was quite surprising from her. Sirius sighed and watched as Dromeda sat down opposite him and glared at him, “could you ever keep your mouth shut?”

“But nobody forced her to stay and listen,” Sirius frowned, “and I didn’t think she was still a –”

“You bloody idiot,” Andromeda shook her head, “you don’t talk about your sexual escapades with your new wife!”

“She was obviously curious about the whole thing…”

“That doesn’t mean you have to tell her,” Andromeda rolled her eyes as if that was the most obvious thing in the world, “do you think I told Ted how many men I’ve slept with when he asked me ? Of course not ! I know this is a new concept for you, but for the love of Salazar, please _think_ before you speak.”

“Fucking hell, this is too complicated for me,” Sirius groaned and leant his head back, looking up at the ceiling.

“Complicated ! Complicated my arse. You’re the smartest wizard I know and marriage is the most complicated thing you’ve encountered ?”

“Not marriage. Women in general,” he frowned, “so many types of women and you need a textbook for each one so you don’t piss them off. If everyone was like you and Ginny, life would be easier.”

“Easier, maybe, but not nearly as dramatic and fun,” Dromeda grinned and sighed, “you go and apologize to the poor girl for being thick as a brick.”

Sirius groaned and nodded, getting up and heading to the fireplace, “honestly, I thought marriage was all smiles and shagging.”

“It is, but it’s also tears and fighting. You need both,” Dromeda shrugged, “and for now you’ll only have the latter. Don’t assume that she'll fall in love with you in a day. Don’t hurt the girl.”

“I’m not that stupid, and that’s not why I married her anyways. Shagging would just be a bonus,” Sirius rolled his eyes.

“A real romantic at heart, I see,” his cousin smirked, “she had her dramatic headstart, go now.”

* * *

 

“She’s in the library, Moony went to comfort her,” James voice immediately said once Sirius exited the fireplace.

“Great,” Sirius grumbled and made his way up the stairs and to the library.

Once he stepped inside, he could hear faint voices coming from deep inside the room. Moony could probably handle this situation better than him. He was always better at words when it mattered the most. Wait, that’s not Moony giving her comfort… that’s Remus taking the piss out of him.

“And then Sirius, the bloody fool, he stumbles into the common room, holding his cheek as if it’s been touched by Merlin himself. He looks at us and says –”

“He says you better piss off before I cut you out of that damn painting,” Sirius growled and glared at the man.

“Not exactly, he said –”

“ _Remus_ ,” Sirius frowned and shook his head.

“Okay, okay, sorry… he said, 'bloody hell, this must be what love feels like'” Remus quickly said before running out of the painting just as Sirius threw a book at it.

“Bloody git,” Sirius frowned and shook his head, “to be fair, I was twelve and girls were a magical thing back then.”

Only then he noticed Hermione holding her stomach and laughing. Sirius rolled his eyes and sat down next to her, leaning against the bookshelf, “it’s not funny.”

“Oh but it is,” Hermione giggled, “it’s _you_ , absolutely awestruck because a girl kissed your cheek.”

“Again – _twelve_ ,” Sirius shook his head, “believe it or not, I didn’t come out of the womb ready to shag. It took a few years before I realized what was what.”

Hermione’s laugh eventually subsided and she looked down again, fumbling with her hands, “so… did you have a good laugh at me with Ginny?”

“What? No,” Sirius frowned and shook his head, “it’s not that big of a deal, just surprising is all.”

“Not normal, you mean.”

“If it makes you feel better, I’m pretty sure Moony’s first was with Tonks,” Sirius grinned.

“He was afraid to infect others,” Hermione said, “not his fault.”

“Whatever, what matters is that it doesn’t change a thing. Now we’ll always have a virgin at hand to sacrifice at blood rituals,” Sirius shrugged and grinned, receiving a punch to his arm, “okay, sorry, sorry.”

“Very funny,” Hermione mumbled and rested her chin on her knees.

“I’m sorry,” Sirius sighed and moved his arm around her shoulders, “stop pouting, it’s not a good look for you. I should be the one pouting – Moony just told you about how pathetic my little arse was in first year.”

“Not pathetic,” Hermione corrected and leant against him a little, “it’s kinda cute how big of a deal you made it.”

“Sirius Black isn’t cute,” he rolled his eyes and slowly stood up, “come on, let’s get back to the Burrow, alright ?”

“Alright,” Hermione nodded and sighed and steadied herself by holding onto his arm.

“I'll tell Ginny to piss off with the questions.”

“She never listens when I say it, she might listen to you. Thank you,” Hermione nodded and smiled, reaching up to kiss his cheek.

Sirius gasped and grabbed his chest, then his cheek where she had kissed him and rushed out of the library, “Moony, Prongs !” With a grin, he heard her giggling start once more as she followed him to the living room. 


	10. The one with the drinking

They never made it to the Burrow. The moment where they were just going to step into the fireplace, two figures fell out of it.

“Harry? Ginny?” Hermione frowned and cocked her head to the side.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have reacted that way, but I was convinced that –”

Hermione interrupted the redhead by hugging her, “it’s alright. Don’t worry about it.”

“And stop with the questions, Ginny. At least to Hermione,” Sirius said, looking down at Ginny who must’ve been at least a foot shorter than he was.

“Yes, yes, I know. Harry already lectured me that enough is enough,” Ginny frowned and crossed her arms on her chest, “ridiculous.”

“Thank you, Ginny,” Hermione smiled.

“Onto the important things… have you opened your presents yet?” Ginny said, her smile returning.

With everything happening, Hermione quickly forgot about the wedding gifts they received. She looked towards the kitchen where many boxes and bags sat on the table.

“We forgot,” Hermione said before being dragged to the kitchen by Ginny.

“Open this one first,” Ginny grinned and shoved a purple bag in her hand.

Hermione laughed a little and took out the gift and raised an eyebrow, “I don’t play quidditch, Ginny, nor do I care for it.”

“I know, but that shouldn’t stop you from wearing a jersey with…” Ginny grabbed the red and gold jersey from her and turned it around to show her the name on the back of it, “’Black’ on it !”

Hermione giggled and shook her head and proceeded to unwrap the rest. Most of the presents were either for the kitchen or alcohol for Sirius. It made her frown a bit, but Sirius greedily accepted each bottle she passed him.

“I’m not letting you drink everyday,” she frowned.

“Bossy witch, eh?” Sirius rolled his eyes and grinned, “fine, fine, I’ll know my limits.”

As expected, she got many books that included tips on how to keep a home nice and clean, as well as cooking spell books. Immediately, she let Sirius know that he would also be responsible and that they’d share their tasks. Surprisingly, he didn’t mind this, just warned her that his cooking skills were absolutely horrible.

“Oh, Sirius, Andromeda told me that you two should visit them sometime,” Harry said while eating a chocolate frog from the gigantic box of sweets Ron had gifted.

“Will do,” Sirius nodded and grabbed one of the wine bottles that were gifted, “how about the four of us have a few drinks ?”

“Should we?” Harry asked, looking at Hermione for her decision.

“Well, a glass or two wouldn’t hurt.”

Okay, maybe a bottle or two wouldn’t hurt.

Their previous intentions of going to the Burrow were completely forgotten and the four sat on the floor of the living room, drinking and talking. Except this time everyone was enjoying themselves, unlike the first night Sirius was back at home.

Hermione made sure to stay semi sober, so she allowed herself a limit of two glasses of wine. She felt a little tipsy and so did Harry by the looks of it, whereas Ginny and Sirius were absolutely drunk, giggling and touching everyone.

“It’s scary how similar the two of you are sometimes,” Harry mumbled and chuckled a little, letting Ginny sit in his lap with her arms around his neck.

“I’m not sitting in Hermione’s lap,” Sirius shrugged, but it was only partly true, because only his head was in her lap.

“But you’re close enough to it,” Harry laughed and looked at Ginny, “huh, I think she’s dozing off.”

“Mm.. no.. I’m.. wide.. awake..” Ginny mumbled, long pauses between the words.

“Right, come on, let’s get you home,” Harry chuckled and stood up, “can you walk or should I carry you?”

“When have I said no to the option of getting carried by someone?”

“Right,” Harry chuckled and picked her up bridal style and said goodbye to Hermione and Sirius before going off to the kitchen.

Hermione heard the familiar “pop” sound as they disappeared to the Burrow. She leant back against the couch and stroked Sirius’s hair absentmindedly.

“Don’t fall asleep on me,” Hermione laughed after a while when she felt the man’s breathing become slower and deeper.

“Oh.. sorry 'bout that,” Sirius mumbled and grinned, turning on his back and closing his eyes and resting his hands on his stomach, “you’re just very comfortable.”

“How’d we end up like this?” Hermione sighed and stroked the hair out of his face, watching him closely.

“Well, you ended up with this old dog, because you went away at the wrong time. And nobody expected me to come back from the dead, so.”

“That’s not really what I meant…” Hermione shook her head, “I meant… I actually feel comfortable around you. More than with Ron, actually. He was never able to stop my nightmares, you on the other hand…”

“Cause we’re both fucked up, love,” Sirius shrugged, “Ron’s a good boy, he wants what’s best for you, but he doesn’t really understand the extent of what… of what you went through.”

“I guess so…” Hermione sighed, “you’ve went through more than I have, though.”

“Well, 'm not going to compare our shitty lives for a contest of who’s got it worse,” Sirius laughed.

“You’d win anyways, I’ve had much more happiness than you. It’s not fair how much you’ve gone through.”

Hermione knew that the man had went through so many horrible years and so few happy ones. His childhood was horrible, filled with his hateful family until he finally escaped them to live with the Potter’s. Then the war started and he lost all of his friends and found himself in Azkaban.

After that it was almost good, aside from having to be on the run for a couple years before the Order kept him safe at Grimmauld place. And then… then he died.

Hermione frowned at how unfair this all was. She’d try to make him happy and make up for all the years he lost in Azkaban. She’d figure something out.

“What about that story Remus was telling me about?” Hermione broke the silence.

“Oh,” Sirius chuckled and nodded, “well it was first year and one day this girl pretty much begged me to help with her Transfiguration homework. I help her, her essay’s done and I turn to her and she just kisses me on the cheek before grabbing her essay and running away.”

“She must’ve had a crush on you..”

“Oh, she did,” Sirius nodded, “and I was head over heels after that first kiss too. So I went after her and we kind of dated for a week before I found out that she was painfully dumb.”

“Did she just use you for homework then?”

“She wasn’t smart enough to think of that,” Sirius laughed, “it was only that one Transfiguration homework. I had copied mine off of Remus anyways.”

“Sirius!”

“Hey, he allowed us to,” Sirius said, laughing when Hermione slapped his chest, “I know this hits a nerve for you, but some of us are too lazy for that crap.”

“If you don’t do it yourself, you never learn.”

“Love, I became an animagus in my teens, I didn’t need to learn something I already knew,” Sirius grinned.

Right. She’d forgotten all about him being an animagus. Merlin, he was smarter than she thought if he was capable of doing such complex, dangerous magic like that before even doing his OWLs.

“Do you want a sober up potion?” Hermione asked.

“I’ll pass,” he shook his head and yawned a little, “I could do with some sleep though.”

“I guess it is pretty late,” Hermione nodded as she glanced at the clock, the hands of it showing that it was near midnight. They talked for so long ?

“Do you want me to stay with you?” Sirius asked and his grey eyes looked up at her.

“If it’s not a problem…” Hermione mumbled and looked away from him, “I don’t want you to worry about me.”

“But I do,” Sirius chuckled and got up from the ground, giving her his hand to pull her up, “I’ll clean this up tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Hermione smiled a bit, fighting the urge to pick up the thrown pillows and empty glasses and bottles.

“Wait for me, I’ll go change my clothes quick,” Sirius said and Hermione listened to him making the way to the top floor of the house.

Hermione chewed her lip and went into her own room. Was it their room now? She shook her head and changed into her pajamas – a cotton shirt and shorts - before climbing into bed.

Sirius came back soon after in red pajama pants and a black shirt that was slightly too big for him. “If you want, I can turn into Padfoot. I guess this might seem a bit weird to you?”

It did, but she reminded herself of what she thought about this morning. It was just two friends taking care of each other. Nothing more, nothing less.

“No, it’s fine,” Hermione shook her head and laid down with him.

His arms slowly wrapped around her, as if he was waiting for her to say stop at any moment. She didn’t. Hermione let his arms pull her close against him as she laid her own arm gently over his stomach and her head on his chest.

“Thank you,” Hermione whispered, “for everything.”


	11. The one where it's Christmas

Hermione didn’t pay much attention to the passing months. She was too busy with writing to St. Mungo’s for a spot as a helper for some of the healers on the fourth floor for victims of spell damage. Being a war hero had its perks – she could easily apply to all the jobs she ever dreamed of. Kingsley even promised her a spot in the Ministry once she was ready to take it.

On the contrary, Sirius spent most of his days doing absolutely nothing in Grimmauld place. Just like before Hermione’s fifth year, except he was allowed to go outside wherever he’d like. Sirius did occasionally go out into the outside world, but not for long and not often. Most of the time he was either at home or at the Weasleys.

Hermione forgot her birthday and he was the first one to congratulate her, surprising her with breakfast in bed. She wished she could say it tasted amazing, but, like Sirius said, his cooking skills were flawed. But she still enjoyed it, even if only because he meant well.

Birthdays weren’t too important to her, so she forgot Sirius’s birthday in November. Only when he made obvious hints such as “well, it’s my special day…” did she catch up on what he meant. She did feel a bit stupid at that, but apologized profusely and pampered him the rest of the day with food and alcohol.

Only Christmas made her briefly forget about St. Mungo’s and she put their owl exchange on hold for now. Besides, they did say she could only start in February, so it didn’t matter much. Somehow Christmas always won her over, even in the busiest of times.

Christmas made everyone happy and cheerful, the decorations and the food always bringing good mood. Not to mention the presents, which were a crucial part of the celebration. It was one of the rare times when nobody felt guilty about others spending money on them.

The Burrow was filled with Christmas spirit the second George and Ginny decorated the Christmas tree. The stars danced around the tree in different colors and a very grumpy gnome sat on top of it, held down by spells.

Even Sirius was in a jolly mood when he broke into a rendition of his favorite Christmas carol “God Rest Ye, Merry Hippogriffs”, which must’ve been encouraged by the amount of eggnog he consumed. He had been feeling down for the last couple of days, but he avoided telling her the reason, much to her annoyance.

“Sit down, all of you!” Molly Weasley called and everyone obliged, sitting down at the long table.

Hermione sat between Sirius and Harry as she looked around to see everyone who was there. Lucy was leaning against Ron, Ginny sat next to Harry, George was whispering something to Angelina, Mr. Weasley was talking to Percy and Andromeda while Teddy bounce around in the lap of the latter, even Bill and Fleur found the time to show up. Only Charlie was missing, but he had sent them all a merry Christmas via owl post.

“Now eat ! I didn’t slave away at the kitchen for you all to just sit and talk,” Molly smiled and let the food appear on the table.

Immediately Hermione’s mouth watered at the sight of various meats, salads, vegetables and drinks in front of them. She got herself a bit of everything and started eating.

Soon enough, everyone was leaning back in their chairs, rubbing their stomachs. Molly Weasley had truly outdone herself this year. Hermione should really ask her how she managed to make everything so delicious. She followed the cooking books she got for their wedding closely, but her food always came out average at best. Perhaps she could teach Sirius as well.

The two still sometimes glared at each other, but overall their relationship was slowly, very slowly improving. Molly, thankfully, stopped acting like Sirius forced Hermione into marriage with him, so Hermione stopped feeling the anger towards her as well.

When they moved from the dining room to the living room, Percy had already excused himself and left to go visit his wife Audrey and her family, Andromeda also apologized, but Teddy was falling asleep, so she didn’t have much choice. Miss Weasley immediately turned on the wireless and the room was filled with the voice of Celestina Warbeck's voice.

“Oh, mom, please no…” George groaned.

“At least ”You Charmed the Heart Right Out of Me” is a better song than “A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love”,” Ginny shrugged.

Before Hermione could join Ron on the couch, Sirius caught her by the arm and pulled her back to him, “dance with me.”

Mr. Weasley must’ve noticed her hesitation, so he asked his wife to dance, immediately making her and Sirius not seem so weird. Hermione smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck while his arms moved around her waist.

“Would you dance even if Arthur wouldn’t have made it less awkward?” Sirius grinned, stroking her lower back gently.

“Probably,” Hermione admitted and rested her head against his chest, “but his help was appreciated anyways. Id feel much more awkward if it was just me and you dancing.”

“Really ? I think I’d prefer that, actually,” Sirius said and held her close against him.

The three months spent together had truly brought them closer, but Hermione was still fighting an emotional battle with herself over him. Sometime during the past few weeks, she realized that she did like him. A lot.

An embarrassing amount, really, and she couldn’t exactly tell anyone. Ginny was already suspecting her of falling for the man, so she didn’t want her to know that she indeed was right. So she kept it to herself and wished the feelings would go away, but they never did, if anything, they got stronger as the months passed.

Sirius was always touchy and friendly with everyone, so she initially assumed that maybe he was just treating her like everyone else. Except she had seriously started doubting that after one night.

He had gotten heavily drunk on his birthday again and refused the sober up potion like most nights. So they had spent most of the night talking in Hermione’s room with her head on his chest, his fingers gently stroking her hair.

“You’re not angry I forgot your birthday, right?” Hermione finally asked the question that had nagged her the whole day.

“I could never be angry with you,” Sirius slurred and grinned, “not over something stupid like a birthday.”

“Still, I should’ve been more thoughtful…”

“Don’t feel bad, love. I got everything I like today – food, drinks and you.”

When he had whispered her name during his sleep, it had happened multiple times over the months actually, but she never thought much of it before, she was completely convinced that his feelings towards her weren’t platonic. She didn’t ask him about what he was dreaming, but she let imagination run wild.

George and Angelina were making a point to dance all across the living room. Hermione thought it was funny and cute until they pushed the two of them and made her and Sirius stumble towards the wall. He quickly caught himself by pushing his forearm against the wall above her head and she pressed her back against the wall.

“Watch it, George,” Sirius barked and frowned at the ginger who was apologizing before dancing off again, he turned to her again, “you alright ?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” Hermione smiled and tried to move, but found herself unable to.

It seemed that Sirius was having the same trouble, because he was frowning and couldn’t move an inch away from her, “what the fuck…”

“Oh no..” Hermione groaned as she noticed the charmed mistletoe hanging above their head.

Ginny had placed them all over the house. Hermione wouldn’t have minded them, but she charmed them so you couldn’t walk away unless you kissed the person you were stuck with.

A wave of nervousness overtook her again. Their second kiss at the wedding had been their last, unless you’d count kisses on the cheek or innocent little ones like that. Sirius didn’t seem upset at all, his grey eyes burned into hers as a grin played on his lips. 

“I hope you don’t mind,” Sirius chuckled and leant down to kiss her, moving his hand to hold her face.

It was gentle and careful like their first. After thoroughly thinking over both kisses they shared, Hermione finally came to agree that both were good. In this situation, a gentle kiss like this was much more intimate and breathtaking than, say, a rough kiss with their hands exploring each other’s bodies.

Hermione moved her hands to his cheeks and smiled a little into the kiss. Their lips felt perfect as they moved together, slowly as if to savor the moment. The spell she was under was only broken when Sirius pulled away and gently pressed their foreheads together.

“We should do this more often,” he whispered and grinned, his thumb stroking her cheek as he spoke.

“You know, the charm would’ve stopped even if you’d only kiss her cheek, ” Ginny said as she came up next to them, her grin bigger now than when she opened her presents, “stop blushing, Hermione.”

“Good to know,” Sirius chuckled as he let go of Hermione and tested out if he was able to take a step away from her, “I was afraid that I’d have to snog the whole Weasley family at the end of the night.”

“Sirius, may I have a word with you?” Molly said, tapping the man's shoulder.

Hermione saw the immediate change in Sirius’s behavior as he nodded and followed the witch upstairs, like a child waiting for his punishment. She frowned and went to follow them. Why couldn’t Miss Weasley leave them alone ?

“Don’t,” Ginny shook her head as she grabbed Hermione’s arm to stop her, “that’s not the face mum makes when we’re in trouble…”

“Well, I doubt she’d start yelling in the middle of people celebrating Christmas,” Hermione frowned.

“Hermione, this is Molly Weasley we’re talking about. She’d make a scene in the middle of Diagon Alley if she’d want it,” Ginny laughed.

Finally Hermione nodded and looked down. Maybe Ginny was right… Miss Weasley wasn’t afraid to argue in front of a big crowd and she certainly didn’t seem angry when she pulled Sirius away. She hoped for the best, but didn’t expect much.

Ginny pulled her over to the couch where Mr. Weasley and Harry already sat, while Ron and Lucy, Bill and Fleur, and George and Angelina were still dancing with each other, “Harry wanted to tell you something.”

“Alright…” Hermione cautiously said and watched the green eyed boy as he turned to her and took a breath.

“I fully believe that you and Sirius might actually make this thing work,” he said so quickly she had to take a second to process what he had said.

“What?”

“Look, I think… I think you two are alright together. I’ll be honest with you, I was convinced you two would be killing each other by this point,” Harry said and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I’ll have to agree,” Mr. Weasley added, taking off his glasses to clean them with the corner of his Christmas sweater.

“And I’ve been rooting for you two since the beginning,” Ginny grinned, obviously proud with herself.

“Oh great, did any of you make any bets, too?” Hermione frowned and noticed how Harry immediately looked away, “oh my god!”

“I didn’t do it,” Harry immediately said, “it was George, Bill and Charlie. I just overheard them talking about it.”

“Wonderful!” Hermione groaned and rubbed her eyes.

“To be fair, we did the same thing with Ron and Lucy,” Ginny shrugged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Could this chapter /be/ any cheesier ? (The answer is yes)


	12. The one where they fight just a little bit

“I wanted to apologize,” Molly said in a tone that made it obvious that this was a very hard thing for her to say.

“What?” Sirius raised an eyebrow and leant against the wall, so he wouldn’t tower over the short woman so much.

“I said, I wanted to apologize. The way I acted towards you and Hermione, especially you, was wrong,” she sighed and shook her head, “I don’t know what made me do it… I just –”

“You're so protective of everyone, I didn’t expect you to just hand her over without a fight,” Sirius chuckled and smiled a bit, “no hard feelings.”

“Really?” Molly smiled and breathed out a sigh of relief.

“One condition… I get one of those Christmas sweaters you made everyone,” Sirius smirked.

“Consider it done,” Molly smiled.

One very awkward hug later, Sirius headed down the stairs with a weight lifted off of his shoulders. He still was a bit mad at her for not understanding sooner, but at least it was over now.

“Why are you so happy?” Hermione looked at him.

“Molly Weasley is a wonderful woman,” Sirius grinned and forced his way to sit next to Hermione, making Ginny fall off the couch as a result.

“Well, that’s a change of heart, what happened?” Hermione asked and cocked her head to her side, which made her look adorable.

“She apologized,” he grinned and moved his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, “that’s all I needed from her.”

“Good,” Hermione smiled and laid her head on his shoulder.

“I told you!” Ginny said from the ground before moving to sit in Harry’s lap, “I knew she’d calm down eventually.”

“We talked a lot about you two and eventually I think I managed to win her over,” Arthur smiled before excusing himself to find his wife.

“The kiss probably helped,” Ginny winked and ruffled Hermione’s messy hair.

“I’m guessing you want us to thank you?” Sirius raised an eyebrow.

“Well, I mean… I’ve been on your team since day one and I was the one who charmed those mistletoes, so…”

“Thank you,” Hermione rolled her eyes and chuckled.

“Yeah, well, I’m sure we would be fine without your support,” Sirius grinned and Ginny feigned being hurt.

“Without me you wouldn’t have had your third kiss. By the way, third! Third!!” Ginny shook her head, “if I were you, Hermione, I would’ve already –”

Harry interrupted her by coughing, “so, Hermione, how’s the whole St. Mungo’s deal going?”

Immediately Sirius’s mood dropped at the mention of St. Mungo’s. He knew that the hospital could use someone as talented as Hermione, but that would mean that she wouldn’t be home nearly as much. He’d have to be alone again for most of the day and maybe even nights sometimes.

“Oh, it’s going wonderful,” Hermione smiled, “I’m going to start working in February and so far it seems wonderful.”

Sirius sighed at the thought of her being away at work, instead of spending her days with him and him alone. It was selfish, sure, and he always felt bad for thinking this way. But he enjoyed having her around, it made him feel younger and happier, of course he wouldn’t want to let her go.

But he saw how happy the idea of being a healer made her. The enthusiasm and excitement in her eyes whenever she spoke about it. He couldn’t take that away from her just because he was a selfish prick.

“Sirius? You there?” Hermione smiled, waving her hand in front of his face, “I asked you a question.”

“Huh? Oh.. oh right,” Sirius shook his head and focused his vision back to her.

“Well? The Burrow or Grimmauld?” Hermione chuckled.

“Uh.. the Burrow ?” he slowly shrugged, not really sure what she was asking him.

“Alright, then,” Hermione nodded, “we’ll share the room with Ginny and Harry.”

“Ah, alright,” Sirius nodded and smiled.

Getting out of Grimmauld place was a nice change, since he did it so rarely. The house was definitely cozier than before, but it still wasn’t really home without Hermione to cheer the place up. If Hermione wasn’t there, then all he did was talk to James and Remus, which started to get more and more depressive over time.

At one point, it truly seems that he’s talking to the real Prongs and Moony. If he’d close his eyes, he could envision them in front of him, like in the good old days. But then he’d open his eyes again and be struck with the harsh reality that his best friends were both dead. Causalities of war.

He and Peter were the worst Marauders and they had somehow pulled out longer than those who actually deserved it. It wasn’t fair and he spent long nights just wondering about what could’ve been while holding Hermione’s sleeping form in his arms.

“I’m tired,” she said and got up, “Sirius?”

“Right,” Sirius nodded and got up, saying goodnight to everyone who was still in the living room before following Hermione to Ginny’s room, which the girls often shared during summers.

“I didn’t know they slept in the same bed,” he heard Harry mumble.

Sirius couldn’t help but chuckle at that before the voices from the living room drowned out and he found himself in a small room, decorated with pictures and quidditch posters. Soon enough he joined Hermione in the small bed, neither of them feeling up to the task of enlarging it with magic.

Besides, it was a good excuse to hold her even closer than usual.

The rest of the holidays were also spent at the Burrow. Sirius didn’t complain, though. Now that Molly wasn’t glaring at him all the time, the place was lovely and Hermione seemed to enjoy having all her friends together, which seemed to be harder to accomplish by the day.

Sirius had told her that it was completely normal now that they didn’t spend that many hours together. After Sirius, James and Remus graduated from Hogwarts, they spent less and less time together, because they were busy with their own lives. This didn’t meant that they loved each other any less. They were still best friends, they just all grew up and had to take life a bit more seriously.

His words seemed to calm her down a bit and she didn’t constantly worry about whether or not their friendship was fading. Sirius did feel a bit guilty for being so needy and clingy, but he wanted to enjoy the last weeks of her always being there.

Those weeks soon came to an end when February arrived and Hermione started to work at St. Mungo’s. Of course he was happy for her, but he also missed her greatly when she was gone. He felt pathetic, but he couldn’t help himself.

It was one of those days when she left early in the morning, so early that the owl with the Daily prophet missed her. Sirius glared at the bird for forcing him to get out of the warm comfort of his bed and let it inside, taking the newspaper and sliding a few coins into the leather bag before shooing it out of his room.

“The fuck…” he mumbled as he looked at the front page, his gaze caught by a large picture of Diagon Alley, but filled with rubble, with many bodies being levitated on stretchers.

“Fourteen injured in Diagon Alley.

Last night, February 9th, a group of individuals attacked a group of shoppers in the very busy Main Street of Diagon Alley. Eyewitnesses say that six hooded figures appeared near “Broomstix” and made their way towards the most crowded area before firing various spells and curses at innocent bystanders and the buildings surrounding them. Unforgivable curses were indeed used, but most injuries were sustained from spells breaking parts off of the surrounding buildings, the rubble falling into the crowd. 

We regret to inform that a wizard were killed at the incident – Barnabus Fletcher. The Daily Prophet offers its condolences to the family and friends of Barnabus.

Another fourteen wizards and witches have been heavily injured and transported to St. Mango’s to be treated for their injuries. Many of them are in critical condition.

Aurors were on the scene immediately and the investigation continues to find the culprits.”

“What the fuck!” Sirius frowned and threw paper away.

Almost as if on cue, something tapped on the window and Sirius snapped his head towards it to see a large tawny owl. He frowned and got up to open the window and grabbed the letter from it, the owl immediately flying away.

“Won’t make it home tonight. Harry and Ron are safe. Stay in the house.  
-Hermione.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” he frowned and crumpled up the parchment before throwing it in the corner of the room, “this is fucking bullshit. Why can’t I leave the fucking house, I’m not a fugitive anymore.”

Naturally, he went to the Burrow, but nobody was there so he went back home afterwards. He was in the dark again, which made him understandably pissed off. It felt too much like when he was in the Order, but was pretty much useless.

But he obliged and stayed at home. Sirius didn't want to leave and miss Hermione showing back up to explain everything to him. He waited, but knew it was pointless, as in the end nobody showed up. When the night came, he was still pacing around the house, waiting for any contact from the others.

When Hermione finally showed up the next morning, he was furiously throwing the same plate on the ground over and over again, fixing it then breaking it again. He hadn’t slept all night – he'd been too scared to face his demons again without her – so there were bags under his eyes and his hair was messy from his hands always ruffling it once it became too neat. He kept himself awake with spiked coffee and cigarettes. Hermione wasn’t there to tell him not to, so he might as well indulge in his vices more than usual.

He didn’t notice her until she spoke up, which made him turn around and frown. She looked just as tired as he felt.

“Sirius –”

“What the fuck do you mean “stay in the house”?” Sirius growled and marched towards her, “could’ve given me some information, not send me that shit note with barely anything on it.”

“It was for the safety of you and others. And I’m working, I didn’t have time to write you an essay,” the little witch said, staring at him as if he was merely a child throwing a tantrum.

“Oh really ? Please do tell me what I could’ve done to harm myself or others!”

“Well, first, you have anger issues. I thought you might want to show up at the hospital and we really don’t need you there if you’re going to act like your usual self,” Hermione frowned, “and second, they threatened you.”

Sirius stared at her, “the fuck do you mean, threatened me?”

“Not specifically you,” Hermione sighed, “they threatened everyone who’s close to Harry – me, Ron, the Weasleys, and you.”

“Then why the fuck are you allowed outside, but I’m not?”

“Because you are reckless,” Hermione frowned and crossed her arms on her chest, “Harry, Ron, most of the others and me as well, work in safe places – the Ministry, St. Mungo’s. We’re not in danger, and we’re helping those that are. You would just complicate our jobs.”

“Oh so bloody Molly Weasley can go wherever she wants, but I can’t. Fan-fucking-tastic,” Sirius said and flung his arm over the counter, hitting the coffee mug, making it smash on the ground.

“Molly and Arthur are visiting Fleur’s family in France,” Hermione rolled her eyes, “I’ve told you that before.”

“Do you really think I listen when you tell me where the bloody Weasleys go on holiday?” Sirius groaned and rubbed his face, kicking the counter out of frustration, “stuck in this fucking house again.”

“Well, it’s not like you go outside anyways!” Hermione finally raised her voice.

“Maybe because I don’t like the way people still stare and point at me like I’m a murderer,” he glared.

“Whatever, I just came by to tell you that I won’t be home for a few days,” Hermione said and frowned.

“What?” Sirius frowned and shook his head, “you can’t leave me for so long.”

“The hospital needs all the people it can get,” Hermione sighed and reached over to take his hand, “I’ll update you via owlpost, if you’d like...”

“Don’t bother,” Sirius mumbled and pulled away from her and went to the living room, “have fun being a hero again.”

“You’re acting like a child,” he heard her call after him.

Sirius fell down on the couch and lit his cigarette. “She’s got a point,” he heard James’s hushed voice somewhere in a nearby room.

“He’ll calm down eventually,” Remus replied.

“Hopefully. I’ve heard he’s got a nasty habit of slashing up paintings when he’s angry.”


	13. The one with his tattoos

The other healers joked that Hermione joined at the worst time possible, but Hermione was convinced it was the other way around. She noticed many flaws in the way the hospital handled so many people and was keen on helping the staff fix the issues. 

Her patients were in critical conditions, so she had to be in the hospital 24/7. Apparently, the healers had special rooms to sleep just for extreme cases like these. Hermione didn’t mind too much and she tried to get a few hours of sleep every night, always casting a silencing charm. 

It always reminded her of Sirius, but their last meeting hadn’t been the best. The witch had worked all night and by the time she arrived at Grimmauld place, Hermione was stressed out. Add Sirius’s foul mood to that and her day was completely ruined. 

Over the next couple days, her feelings towards him went back to normal and she waited for the day she could return back to him. She just hoped he had calmed down by that point as she really wouldn’t be up for arguing upon her return. 

“You know, I heard it was some leftover Death Eater group,” a blonde witch whose name she couldn’t recall mentioned while they were taking a short break over tea. 

This wasn’t news to Hermione. The second it happened, Harry owled her to voice his concerns. It wasn’t confirmed, but the three were pretty sure that their suspicions were right after a threat was left for Harry and his closest people. Of course, it’d be incredibly naïve to think that all Death Eaters were gone after the second war. 

“That’s ridiculous,” Hermione replied to the blonde and finished her tea quickly, burning her throat in the process, “and I’d appreciate if we could talk about something else during our break.”

“To be fair, it’s the biggest one that has happened after the second war,” the witch shrugged and sipped her tea, “ curiosity is only expected.”

“I just remember, I have to go. Priscilla needs to have her bandages changed,” Hermione said and stood up from the small, round table. 

“Our break just started !” but Hermione was already walking away. 

“Thank you, Hermione. You’ve proven yourself as a truly selfless person while helping us take care of the patients both day and night. But now go and take care of yourself - go home and rest. Your shifts will go back to normal once you return, I’d apologize about having you work so much, but, since you yourself insisted on it…” the older witch who was in charge of her smiled. 

It was past midnight and Hermione was just finishing up checking on the patients in the ward. She stepped away from the bed and walked to her supervisor. Hermione liked her, because she really cared about all the patients and she had complimented Hermione’s will to help those in need. Of course she couldn’t leave the hospital at times like these, they needed everyone they could get. 

“Sounds lovely, Miss Folk, I’ll be back in a couple days then,” Hermione smiled, “but if there’s an emergency, feel free to owl me.”

Though she would’ve loved to return sooner, she truly enjoyed her work here, Hermione knew that there was someone else who needed her help. Sirius never replied to the owls she sent him, so she wasn’t sure if he was still mad at her. Harry had checked in on him yesterday and said that he was grumpy and tired, but otherwise he seemed fine.

Hermione got home soon after, quickly thinking of a speech that would be good for both of them – the goal was for them to apologize to each other. She half expected to see him on the couch, but there was no sign of him apart from an empty whiskey bottle. Her room was next on his possible hiding places, but it was empty as well. That left only his room. 

Walking up the stairs to the top floor, she wondered if he’d even want her to be there. It didn’t matter. Hermione wanted to be there and if he wouldn’t want her, then she’d deal with it. 

Hermione gently knocked on the door and opened it, stepping inside. The moonlight shone into the room and she saw the silhouette of Sirius. Except he wasn’t sleeping peacefully, but his arms and legs were violently thrashing around, his back arching every once in a while his hands cramped and gripped the mattress underneath him. 

His head was leant back against the pillows and his mouth was open. He must’ve cast a silencing charm. Hermione grabbed her wand and cast a counter spell to get rid of the silencing charm and her legs nearly gave out when she heard Sirius screaming and begging with the occasional sob mixed in.

“Oh my god,” she whispered and ran over to him, jumping on the bed. 

Hermione hadn’t thought that he’d be fine without her, but she didn’t think it’d be this bad. Sometimes she woke up to his hands painfully gripping her sides and him incoherently mumbling, his body twitching against hers. It stopped after she whispered soothing words to him and stroked his hair, but it was still painful to watch. She had assumed that it’d be something like that, bad but manageable, so seeing him like this was absolutely horrifying. 

“Please wake up,” she mumbled and gently shook him, dodging his arm that nearly hit her in the face, “Sirius.”

Finally his eyes shot open and he took in a deep breath as if he had been drowning just seconds before. His breathing was rapid and he grabbed onto everything near him until his hand gripped her arm tightly. It hurt, but she didn’t care. 

He immediately sat up and his head snapped around to look at her and in the moonlight she saw how scared he was. Sirius was drenched in sweat and his hair was covering his face almost completely. She’d never seen him like this and Hermione dreaded that this wasn’t a one-time thing for him.

“Its okay, I’m here now,” she whispered and pulled him into a tight hug. 

Hermione felt him shiver as he pressed his face against her shoulder, his hands gripping onto her blouse for dear life. It broke her heart to see him so hurt and she couldn’t even think of anything to say that would make it better. So she didn’t say anything, just rubbed his back and held him close until his shivering subsided.

“Go take a shower, you’ll feel better afterwards,” Hermione whispered, lifting his head up from her shoulder, holding his face in her hands. 

Sirius nodded and looked down as he walked to the bathroom connected to his room. In the doorway he stopped and looked back at her, as if checking if she was still there. Then he disappeared into the room and Hermione heard the shower turn on after a while. 

When he didn’t come back after a few minutes, she got up and went to the kitchen to make them both hot chocolate. With the two steaming mugs in hand she returned to the room just when the water shut off again. She sat down on the bed and watched as he exited the bathroom. 

It was hard not to look at him. Sirius’s chest was bare and his grey plaid pajama pants hung loosely around his hips. Even if he did notice her staring at his body, he didn’t say anything, which, paired with the look in his eyes, made her feel even more upset, since it was so unlike him.

“Here,” she said and forced a smiled, passing him one of the mugs with hot chocolate, “my dad used to make me hot chocolate whenever I’d get nightmares.”

“Thank you,” he mumbled as he sat down on the bed, leaning against the headboard. 

Hermione moved to sit next to him, tucking her legs under her. “If you want to talk, then –” 

“No,” he immediately said. 

Hermione nodded and looked down, sipping her hot drink slowly. They sat there drinking in silence until there mugs were empty. She set them both down on the nightstand to take care of later. 

“You’ve never really showed me your tattoos before,” Hermione said as she knelt next to him, her eyes roaming over the dark ink on his chest, stomach and arms. 

“Hard to do without taking my shirt off,” Sirius mumbled, laying down on his back, “and you’ve never asked.”

Hermione could feel that he was still upset about whatever he had dreamt about. She couldn’t see his usual self and she made herself forget about how tired she had been when she left the hospital, and focus on solely making Sirius feel better. If not better, then at least forget about his dreams for a while. 

“That’s the symbol for amalgamation,” Hermione said as she touched the large tattoo on his sternum, “it’s linked with the Grey Wolf.”

“I thought it was close enough to black mutt,” Sirius shrugged. 

“This is gar,” she said, pointing at the rune on his right pec , “it’s a binding rune. It means Odin’s spear, Gungnir.”

“Right again,” Sirius said, his eyes staring at her. 

“Naudiz,” knowing that he was watching, made it even harder to concentrate, her fingers brushed over his right pec, “meaning need, desire.” 

“This is Aesc,” he said as he suddenly grabbed her hand and pressed it against the rune under his sternum, “determination.”

He guided her hand lower, “Yr symbolizes skill.”

Hermione chewed the inside of her lip when he moved her hand to rest on the rune under his navel, “Ior. The world serpent. It symbolizes dual nature.”

Her left hand stayed trapped under his, but she moved her right to touch the rest of the black ink all over his torso. Some of the Runes were foreign to her and some were so small and so close together, that she couldn’t even start deciphering them. Even though she couldn’t really figure out some of them, they fit him well. 

“I’m so fucking pathetic without you,” Sirius mumbled after a while and watched the ceiling.

“Sirius…” Hermione sighed.

“It’s true, I can’t function right when you’re gone,” he frowned and clenched his teeth. 

“I’m sorry I had to go,” Hermione mumbled and looked down, “I just wanted to help, if you’d only see how much work there was...”

“I know, and I know I’m incredibly selfish for wishing that you’d just stay with me all day and night.”

Selfish, definitely, but it also made her stifle a smile, “Sirius…”

“Yeah, yeah, career and helping is important for you and I respect that. It’s fine and I won’t stop you from doing what you love, but sometimes I just wish you were as lazy as me,” he chuckled a little then sighed. 

“You’re not lazy,” Hermione mumbled as she moved to lay next to him, moving her arm to lay across his waist. 

“Never worked a day in my life, nor do I plan to,” Sirius shrugged, holding her against him. 

“Well, you did work in the Order,” Hermione shrugged. 

“Doesn’t really count as work.”

“But you were occupied, it’s close enough.”

“Guess so. I never really got the chance to work and I’ve never really had the need to,” Sirius said, stroking her back.

“Maybe it’d be good for you,” Hermione said as she looked up at him, “you know, getting out of the house and having something to do. You rarely leave the nowadays.”

“I do go outside,” he rolled his eyes and looked away from her, “I go to the Burrow, to Andromeda, Harry’s, Diagon Alley…”

“Rarely. You need to find friends, a hobby, something,” Hermione sighed, “you’ll go mad if you keep spending your days in this house. If I’m not here, you just talk to Remus and Harry’s dad all day and I don’t think that’s good for you.”

“See, I’ve got friends.”

“They’re portraits, Sirius. It’s not them.”

“They’re close enough.”

“Sirius, I’ve read about people going mad, because they refuse to accept that the people in paintings aren’t real. I enjoy talking to them occasionally too, but you do it much too often and I’m starting to worry.”

Too many nights she caught Sirius drinking and talking to Remus and James. At first she thought it was good that he could talk to his old friends again, but, as time went on, Hermione had a nagging feeling that Sirius was taking it a bit too far. 

“They’re not actually them. It’s more like your reflection. It looks like you, acts like you and has the same personality and some memories, but –” 

“I know what they are, for fucks sake,” Sirius growled.

“I know that you do, most of the time at least,” Hermione said as she leant up on her elbow to look down at him, “but sometimes you get carried away… you really act and talk to them as if they’re truly here.”

“Oh, right, fuck me for wanting to talk to my dead friends,” Sirius frowned.

“That’s not what I meant… it’s just, sometimes you spend hours talking to them. That’s not normal.”

“Because I fucking miss them and I need them. They kept me sane when I was a teenager and I need them to keep me sane now.”

“You’ve got me.”

“You’re different,” Sirius mumbled and turned his head so he wouldn’t have to look at her, “I can’t talk to you about those things.”

“Why not?” she frowned, moving her hand to his jaw to turn his head so he’d look at her, “I trust you with my issues, you never tell me yours, though I know you’ve got loads.”

“I don’t want to discuss this,” Sirius mumbled, desperately looking anywhere but at her, “just lay down and sleep.”

“No,” Hermione frowned and groaned, “you can be so frustrating at times. I’m always here for you, yet the only time you let me take care of you is when you’re sleeping. It’s okay to show your weaknesses!”

“I don’t do that,” Sirius frowned and finally she met his grey eyes.

“It’s not good to bottle up your emotions. You need to vent sometimes.”

“I’ve got my ways to clear my mind.”

“Oh, like what?” 

“Well, drinking, smoking, fucking usually help,” Sirius shrugged, “if not, then doing something reckless or dumb, driving or working on my bike. I’ve got loads of ways to deal with my shit.”

“And all of them are horrible,” she frowned. 

“Hey, if it’s not your thing then whatever. It’s not like I’m forcing you to do them with me,” Sirius said, before grinning, “though I’d love to give you a ride on my bike, if Arthur ever let's me get it back.”

The tense mood immediately lifted as she bit her lip, “You know? It was supposed to be a surprise…” 

After the bike was severely damaged, Mr. Weasley promised Harry that he’d fix it. The idea was to return it to Harry, but, now that Sirius was back, they all decided that it’d be only right to give it back to it’s true owner. However, with everything being so complicated, the repair of the bike took longer than anticipated, so it was still at the Burrow. 

“Ron might've mentioned it by accident,” Sirius shrugged. 

“Ronald,” Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head, “but I wouldn’t want to ride that death trap, anyways.”

“It’s not a death trap if I’m driving,” Sirius rolled his eyes , “I'm sure you’ll like it.”

“I honestly doubt that.”

Talking about his motorcycle seemed to make him smile, so she tried to keep the conversation about it going. She didn’t know anything about it, but Sirius was happy to explain everything, occasionally pointing on the pictures and drawings in his walls. Even with his explanations, Hermione didn’t really understand it fully, but she didn’t complain and listened to his voice, slowly being lulled to sleep by it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My ancient rune knowledge is a bit rusty, but hey


	14. The one with the motorcycle

“It’s supposed to be a surprise,” Sirius mumbled as his hand covered the girl’s eyes.

“But I know what it is.”

“Well, pretend that you don’t !” he groaned.

“Sirius,” Hermione laughed and tried to remove his hand away from her eyes, “I told Mr. Weasley to bring it here today.”

“Merlin, you’re bad at acting,” Sirius shook his head and removed her hand, letting her see the Triumph Bonneville T120 in front of her, “oh, baby, I missed you.”

It was the first weeks of May and the Weasley patriarch had finally finished working on Sirius’s bike. When he first saw it, Sirius damn near hugged the motorcycle. Both good and bad memories surrounded the bike, it was great to have it back in his ownership. Along with the news that all the suspects of the attack before three months has been incarcerated, it was a great week for Sirius.

“Be careful if you’re going to go out,” Hermione warned as she watched him while he ran his hands all over the familiar vehicle.

“Oh, no, sweetheart, I’m afraid I cannot take care of myself. I’m going to need some extra help,” Sirius said with a grin as he walked towards her again.

Her face immediately paled and she took a few steps back, “no! Sirius Black, I will not –”

“Oh yes you will,” Sirius grinned and grabbed her arm to pull her to the motorcycle, “come on, we’ll fly out of the city and then drive on some lonely roads. It’ll be romantic. You’re into those things.”

Hermione blushed and tried to pull away, “that’s not exactly romantic in my eyes.”

“Do you trust me?” Sirius smiled and took her hand, watching her intently.

“Yes, but –”

“Then let’s go,” Sirius grinned and got onto the bike, “come on.”

“Sirius… god, I really don’t know about this…” Hermione whispered as she carefully sat down next to him.

“Just grip onto me tight, I’d never let you get hurt,” Sirius said and patted her thigh.

Arthur Weasley was good – he had installed an invisibility booster, just like he had in his old Ford Anglia. When the man first showed up, Hermione was at St. Mungo’s for an early shift and Sirius surprised Arthur. The redhead immediately started to fidget and look around, trying to come up with an excuse. It didn’t really work.

When he came clear about why he was there, Sirius hugged the man, lifting him off of the ground. Arthur had laughed and congratulated him on regaining his bike before apologizing and rushing off to the ministry. Sirius spent the whole day fawning over the motorcycle, checking it and cleaning it, even though it was in perfect condition. When Hermione came back from work, he pushed the bike outside of the house, eager to show her.

“Oh Merlin,” Hermione whispered as she wrapped her arms around his waist, gripping onto him so tightly even before he’d actually started the bike.

“I won’t go fast, I promise,” Sirius chuckled.

Sirius pressed the silver button like Arthur instructed him and immediately the two and the motorcycle became invisible. He started the bike and pulled a lever, making the motorcycle lift up in the air. As Sirius guided the bike higher and higher above London, Hermione whimpered behind him.

“You just have to trust me, love,” Sirius laughed as he finally picked up a bit of speed so they’d fly out of London.

As the people in the streets became tiny, they flew further and further out of the city. They weren’t going too fast, but fast enough so that they could land on ground soon. Hermione obviously hated flying and Sirius didn’t want to torture her too much.

They landed when he finally found a lonely farm road. He pressed the silver button once more, then stopped the motorcycle to turn his head and look at her.

“You can open your eyes now, love,” Sirius chuckled and rubbed her thigh, “though you missed one hell of a view.”

“I don’t care. Flying is horrible,” Hermione shivered and pressed her cheek against his back.

“I love it,” Sirius smiled and turned his head again, “maybe you’ll like this better?”

“Oh god,” she whispered and pressed tighter against his back.

Sirius laughed and the bike roared back to life again as he sped along the road. He picked up speed and felt Hermione carefully lift her head away from his back and her grip around his waist loosening.

“You like this?” he grinned as he shot a quick glance back at her.

“Its better than flying,” she replied and he felt her body relax against him.

“I might like this better too. Flying is great, but there's something about this..." Sirius nodded.

“Maybe we can take the long way back home then?” Hermione asked as the motorcycle slowly stopped near an oak tree by the road.

“Sure, if you’d like,” Sirius grinned, excited by the prospect of having her ride with him for so long.

“You know, this isn’t too bad…” Hermione said when they were off of the bike and walking around to stretch their legs before the ride home, “I thought it’d be worse.”

“I said you have to trust me,” Sirius shrugged and chuckled, moving his arm around her waist to pull her close against his side.

“And I do,” Hermione smiled and leant against him, “it's just that it’s a bit scary at first…”

“I guess it can be… but you’re a Gryffindor, be brave,” Sirius winked and stopped, pulling her against him, “I knew I’d like taking you out on a ride…”

“We could do this more often,” Hermione shrugged and smiled, “you’re right, it is kind of romantic.”

“Told you,” Sirius grinned and leant down to kiss her.

“But is it that romantic?” Hermione chuckled, moving her hand in front of his mouth.

“Well…” Sirius mumbled, taking her hand and kissing all over it, “I would say it’s extremely romantic… maybe the most romantic thing to happen to you, even.”

“Confident,” Hermione laughed and pulled her hand back and backed away from him towards the oak tree.

“I’ve been called that,” Sirius slowly walking towards her.

When he reached her, she was nearly at the tree, so his hands grabbed her hips as he gently pushed her back against the oak. Sirius grinned as her arms snaked around his neck, while he leant down to kiss her.

“You’re so gentle with me…” Hermione whispered when his lips left here, “I never thought you’d be so patient and… well… caring.”

“I’ll be honest, it’s surprising for me too,” Sirius chuckled, rubbing circles near her hips with his thumbs, “I don’t know what it is about you…”

“I like this Sirius,” Hermione smiled, stroking his hair, “the kind, gentle, patient Sirius…”

“It’s hard to keep the other Sirius away – the Sirius that takes what he wants when he wants it,” he chuckled.

“He shows up sometimes when you’re drunk… I can’t say I mind him too much,” Hermione whispered.

“Sorry… it’s hard to control myself sometimes,” Sirius mumbled and let his head fall down to her neck, “you’re so gorgeous…”

“Sirius…”

“It’s true,” he said and kissed her neck gently, “you’re breathtakingly beautiful. It’s a miracle I can hold myself back.”

Sirius moved his hands to her arse and her body tensed up slightly when his hands gently squeezed it. He chuckled and bit her neck, her back arching away from the tree and pushing her chest against him more. Her hands moved to his jaw and Hermione forced his head up and away from her neck.

“No?” he raised an eyebrow

“Kiss me,” Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled.

Sirius grinned and let out a quiet groan before crashing his lips onto hers again. He grabbed her and lifted her up with ease, hooking her legs around his waist. Hermione sighed as he pressed her back against the tree bark, her hands moving back to grip his hair.

“You’re such a good kisser,” Hermione whispered when he pulled away.

“I’m good at a lot of things,” Sirius grinned and kissed along her jaw, “I wouldn’t mind showing you…”

“Let’s go back home, it’s getting dark,” Hermione smiled and kissed his cheek.

“Did I go too far? I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, sorry I just --” he immediately started, letting go of her so she could stand on her own.

Hermione shook her head and lead up to kiss him softly, interrupting him, “let’s go home.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just all fluff by this point lol


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just smut, really.

As they stepped back into Grimmauld Place, it was already dark outside. The way back had taken a while and Hermione’s legs thanked her once she got off the bike. The door closed behind her and she watched as Sirius turned around, watching her closely.

His eyes were darker than usual and his breathing was heavy. Hermione knew exactly why and she knew that she was to blame. Something had changed in her by that damned oak tree. She'd become much more brave than she thought, though Hermione would never admit that both her hands and thoughts had crossed unfamiliar territory during the long ride home. 

Part of her screamed in glee that she was able to make him feel this way and the rest of her cried in fear for what was to come. 

“If you changed your mind, I understand,” Sirius whispered as he stood directly in front of her, stroking her hair out of her face.

It must’ve been only a few seconds in real time, but her mind fought a battle that lasted for what felt like ages. She wanted it, yet she feared it. At the same time, she trusted Sirius more than most other people. He vowed to protect her, he’d never hurt her. Was there truly anything to fear? Sirius made her feel safer than anyone else...

Hermione shook her head and he took her face in his hands as their lips joined together again. God, if she could kiss him for the rest of her life, she’d be happy. Her arms wrapped around his neck as his lips traveled down from her jaw to her neck to her shoulder.

“Not here,” Sirius growled, so quiet that she wasn’t sure if he even meant for her to hear it.

Sirius picked her up and for a moment she felt self conscious. She was skinny, but the few extra pounds on her made her feel too heavy to be carried. It seemed that Sirius didn’t mind her one bit, he carried her as though she was a bag of feathers.

They stopped everyonce in a while so Sirius could press her against a nearby wall or door to kiss her. The trip from the front door to her room, which usually would’ve taken a minute or two, took them at least ten minutes this time. Not that she minded – she had more time to tell herself that it’d be okay.

When they reached her room, he dropped her on the bed after kicking the door shut. She warily looked at the lights that he turned on and chewed her lip, “can you turn them off…?’

“I want to see you,” Sirius said as he pushed her to lay down and then leant over her body, kissing and biting her neck.

Hermione tried not to think too much about it. He’d see her, but then she’d also see him. Ever since he started sleeping without a shirt after that one night in February, she yearned to see the rest of him. She dreamt of it and thought of it enough that it made her embarrassed. Hermione was supposed to be the proper one, but Sirius made her desire things she never wished for before.

His hands moved all over her body, finally pulling off her shirt to expose her simple black bra. Sirius moved down the bed and covered her torso in kisses everywhere he could before taking off her bra slowly. Instinctively, Hermione moved her arms to cover her breasts.

“Don’t,” he whispered, his hands taking her wrists, gathering them in one of his hands before pinning them above her head.

Hermione felt exposed and her anxiety grew by the second. He didn’t do anything, just stared with his bottom lip caught between his teeth. Was Sirius changing his mind ?

“You’re so gorgeous,” he whispered as his mouth latched onto one of her nipples, causing a shock to travel through all of her body.

A moan broke through her lips and her back arched as she pushed her chest more to him. “Sirius!” she gasped when his teeth grazed her nipple. Her head fell back against the mattress as he moved over to her other breast, biting and sucking her sensitive skin.

As he moved lower down her body, he let go of her wrists and she immediately gripped the bed sheets under her. She chewed her lip and looked down at his hands undoing her jeans. Like before, he kissed every inch of skin he uncovered, almost like he was trying to remember every part of it.

Her body tensed up again when he slowly pulled down her underwear and her thighs immediately pressed together.

“Hermione…” Sirius whispered with a chuckle as he looked up at her, his lips kissing over her hips.

“Sorry,” she pouted and looked down.

“Hey, don’t do that,” Sirius frowned and immediately moved back up and caught her lips in a gentle kiss, “pouting isn’t allowed during sex.”

“I’m just… nobody’s ever really… it’s so embarrassing,” she whispered and looked away from him.

Ron and her had done some things, but they never got past using their hands. There was always something so scary to her when she imagined a man so close to her most private parts.

“Its okay,” he whispered and kissed her chin, her jaw, her neck, “if you don’t want to, I can stop.”

Hermione closed her eyes to make up her mind. With a determined look, she looked at him and shook her head. Sirius smiled at that and bit her neck playfully before moving down again, pushing her legs apart with ease. There was a second of doubt, a feeling of fear, but her arousal was clouding her mind.

Closing her eyes helped to stop her anxiety. She took a deep breath and bit her lip as she felt him kiss her hip, his head traveled further down until his beard tickled her thigh wonderfully, before his movement stopped. “Fuck,” he whispered and in a minute stars exploded in her body, in her mind.

Everything about his touch was perfect.

Her moans filled the room as she felt him against her.

His mouth

His lips

His tongue

His breath

His fingers

Oh Merlin

It didn’t take long until her fingers painfully gripped his hair, but he didn’t mind, he groaned loudly against her, the vibrations of his voice only heightening her experience. Everything was bliss and she’d never ever felt so good before.

Her body quivered and her thighs clenched around his head before her shaking subsided and her arms fell limp against her sides. “Fuck,” Sirius whispered, his voice shaking a bit which brought Hermione out of her trance.

Hermione bit her lip as she opened her eyes to see the man already undressed to his underwear, touching himself through his boxers while his eyes roamed her body. A moan escaped her lips when she saw the scene in front of her.

“See what you do to me?” Sirius groaned and his eyes met hers.

Hermione sat up and was surprised of her own boldness when she reached out to touch the bulge in his boxers. Sirius’s eyes rolled back as she kissed his sternum and down the three runes that were tattooed on his skin. When she reached the waistband of his boxers, she looked up, seeing him look like he was making the hardest decision in his life.

“I’d love to have your pretty little mouth around me, but not tonight,” he whispered and pushed her to lay down again.

His touch wasn’t rough, but the more aroused he was, the more needy his motions became. Sirius groaned as he climbed on top of her and his bulge rubbed against her thigh. Hermione bit her lip as he nuzzled his face into her neck, biting and sucking gently. His hand moved to her lower belly as he whispered something, which must’ve been a contraceptive charm.

Before an hour she was still absolutely horrified by the idea. It was terrifying and she couldn’t see herself doing it, but now? Now she wanted it, needed it.

Her hands moved down his sides and grabbed the band of his boxers as she slowly pulled them down his hips and thighs. Sirius pushed them off the rest of the way and pressed himself against her, making both of them moan because of the pressure.

“I’ll go slow,” Sirius whispered and he moved his head up so he could watch her.

Hermione stared into his grey eyes and found solace in them. He entered inch by inch and the further he went, the more uncomfortable it got. Hermione let out a quiet whine and her nails dug into his shoulders. Sirius grunted quietly, biting his lip so hard Hermione was surprised he didn’t break the skin.

“It’s okay,” Sirius whispered, obviously fighting back the urge to just slam into her, “you’re a good girl, you can take it.”

“Sirius,” she whimpered as another pain wave shocked her.

But then there was another feeling quickly taking over her.

Her whines turned into moans and she finally truly understood what people meant with “pleasure in pain”.

“That’s right, love,” Sirius whispered as his head lowered again to her neck, “fuck you feel good.”

Sirius felt like heaven. He filled her in the best way possible, causing all of her senses to go in overload. She felt as though fireworks were set off in her belly when she finally burst. Sirius’s mouth had felt amazing, but this somehow was even better than that.

Almost as though she was afraid of someone hearing them, she muffled her screams of pleasure by sinking her teeth into his shoulder. She tasted blood and heard him shout a string of curse words, his hands holding her hips in a bruising grip.

Sirius collapsed on top of her two thrusts later, shivering and breathing fast. He wasn’t putting his full weight on her, but Hermione smiled at the pressure of him on top of her. She bit her lip and stroked his hair out of his sweaty face and grinned.

He picked his face up from her shoulder and kissed her again, in a lazy fashion that made her smile. “Fuck,” he whispered against her lips before rolling off of her, catching his breath. The loss of him filled her with ache and she whimpered quietly, biting her lip.

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Sirius frowned and looked over at her.

“No, it was better than I ever imagined it to be,” Hermione immediately said and smiled at him, squeezing her thighs together. Anger at herself overwhelmed her for a second. If she would’ve known how good this would feel, she would’ve done this ages ago.

Hermione frowned when she saw his bleeding shoulder, “I hurt you though…”

“That was amazing, didn’t expect that from you,” he grinned as he looked at it before turning on his side to kiss her again, “don’t worry your pretty little head about it. If anything, worry about how you’re going to top that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry not sorry
> 
> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	16. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you thought this couldn't get even cheesier, you're wrong.

  
“What did you do?” Hermione frowned as she walked into their bedroom, a small boy holding her hand, his thumb in his mouth.

Sirius was still half asleep, his legs on the floor, but the rest of his body laid on the mattress, as though he had tried to get up, but gave up halfway through. He rubbed his eyes and looked at her with a grin, “have I told you how beautiful you look?”

“Why is Robert so upset ?” she said as she marched over and stood over him, “Lysa and I calmed him down, but I’d still like to know what you did to him. He won’t tell us.”

When Sirius didn’t answer, but his eyes started to fall shut again, Hermione groaned and ripped the sheets off of him, “don’t you dare go back to sleep! I’m talking to you.”

“Okay, okay!” Sirius frowned as he sat up and yawned a little, “he kept poking and annoying me so I’d get up, that’s why I told him that I owled McGonagall to tell her he’s not going to Hogwarts after all.”

“Sirius!” she slapped his arm and rolled her eyes, “why would you do something like that ? You know how nervous Rob’s been about going off to school.”

“I was tired and wanted to sleep,” Sirius pouted and then grinned, “which, by the way, is your fault.”

Hermione looked away and shook her head, “get up and go apologize. You already overslept, you’re messing up my schedule.”

“Fine, fine, fine,” Sirius mumbled, “I’ll meet you downstairs.”

Hermione kissed his cheek before leaving back downstairs. Sometimes Sirius took his jokes a bit too far. Regulus was too young to understand, Lysa didn’t have trouble with it, but Robert was much more sensitive and anxious, so sometimes Sirius’s jokes were a bit too much for him.

“Are all your things packed?” Hermione asked as she cleared the plates on the kitchen table.

“Yes, mum.”

“Yes,” a girl answered.

“Lysa, you’re not going to Hogwarts yet,” Hermione smiled and stroked her dark hair.

“You could convince them to let me go! You two are famous!”

“Rules are rules, sweetheart,” Hermione kissed her head then looked at Robert, “we’ll go once your father is ready.”

“I’m always ready,” Sirius said as he walked into the kitchen, immediately getting himself a coffee.

“Love, we’re going to King’s Cross, you didn’t have to get dressed up,” Hermione laughed as she saw him.

“Hey, I think I look good,” Sirius shrugged, wearing navy trousers and the same color waistcoat over a white dress shirt and dark tie.

“I never said you didn’t,” Hermione chuckled and leant against the counter, waving her wand and hearing Robert’s luggage coming down the stairs, “Rob, take your owl, I’ll shrink down your trunk so we can travel easier.”

When they finally arrived at Kings Cross, Hermione let Rob’s trunk go back to normal size and they all ventured into the station. It was strange being back, Sirius must’ve felt the same, because his arm wrapped around her waist and he pulled her close.

“I haven’t been here in years…” she whispered as they finally reached the brick wall leading to platform 9 ¾.

Rob, Lysa knew what to do, so there wasn’t any issue with that, Hermione held Regulus as they leant against the wall and appeared on the other side. The platform was already filled with students and families, some of the parents she recognized from her own school years. Pleasantries were exchanged with some of the parents, but she scanned the crowd for the faces she truly wished to see.

Finally, she spotted Harry, Ginny and Ron and she quite literally dragged Sirius, because he was busy giving Rob the last tips on how to not get caught doing mischief. All of them hugged and kissed, chatted about how strange it was to send their children off to school. Hermione might’ve shed a tear or two, but she quickly wiped them away before her children saw.

“Send us an owl when you get there,” Sirius said as he ruffled Rob’s hair.

With last goodbyes and hugs, Rob boarded the train with the eldest Potter son and Ron and Lucy's daughter, while the rest of the children watched with obvious jealousy. For a second, Hermione felt that jealousy too and she wished she could be eleven again, to start over and discover magic for the first time. But Sirius squeezed her to his side and she remembered that she was right where she was supposed to be.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really, this was just something I did for fun, so it's not meant to be perfect or even good. I had fun writing it and I hope at least some of you enjoyed reading it. :)  
> This fic was silly and cliche, but it was never really meant to be anything else.   
> Thanks for reading !   
> Thank you for all the kudos, bookmarks, comments and subscribes.   
> :)

**Author's Note:**

> I'll try to update regularly xx 
> 
> Also, yes, I know the marriage law trope is overused. (I don't care, I like it)
> 
> Comments, bookmarks and kudos are all appreciated. Thanks !


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